Dracula And Anna: Finding The truth
by VampireElfWitch
Summary: Part 1. Alter Ending. Anna has amnesia! Is Anna Drac's Bride? How did she lose her memory? Is Anna even a Vampire? What happened the night that VH killed Drac? May contain Humour. DxA. Rating due to later chapters -might change-
1. Amnesia

Full Summary: This is a Van Helsing fan fiction Alter Ending. Anna has awakened only to discover that she has amnesia! Is Anna Valerious Dracula's Bride? What happened the night that Van Helsing had (in the movie) killed Dracula? Is Anna even a Vampire? How did she lose her memory? These are the basic questions you will most likely ask, correct? Well, if you want to know the answer, then you'll just have to read on! May contain humour, though it _may_ depend on the reader. Rating might change. Characters: Dracula (and two new ladies), Anna, Van Helsing, Igor and the Dwergi. May add more characters later... Mainly a Dracula & Anna fic.

A/N: This is my third fan fiction I've started writing, so it shouldn't have that many spelling or grammar mistakes... I hope. Well, I hope you enjoy it.

Also if something doesn't sound right please let me know (same for all my other fan fictions).

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter One

Amnesia

Opening her eyes, Anna found herself lying in a very comfortable bed. Sitting up, she started looking around the room, she realised that she was in a very strange, yet, familiar place. Suddenly she felt pain in her head, which felt very much like a hang over. She laid her head back onto the pillow. Her eyes searched around the room, the first thing she noticed was that the bed was large enough to have fitted several people. The sheets and pillows were made of black silk. Then noticed the man lying next to her, on top of the covers; he was wearing his usual black that she knew so well.

'Anna,' he whispered (sounding relieved), his eyes resting on hers. He put his left arm across her waist to rest just above her right hip. He leaned in to kiss her, but he noticed Anna's face held an expression that said, "what the hell is going on!" Seeing the look on her face, he asked worried, 'are you alright Anna?'

She threw him a look of venom, 'what do you think you're doing?'

He was obviously confused, 'what I always do,' his eyes narrowed, 'what's the last thing you remember?' She looked away from him and shut her eyes, as she tried to remember.

'I remember killing Aleera, then running to save Van Helsing, but no further after that.' Her eyes slowly opened and she looked like she was going to cry.

There was not a sound, nor movement for a moment, as her words sunk in. She turned back to him. He looked as if he were staring out into space; perhaps he was deep in thought, since he wasn't looking at her.

'Would you care to explain what happened that night?'

'Things like that should always remain in the past.'

'Where'd you get that bullshit from?'

He turned to her, his eyes full of curiosity, 'you did.'

'No, I never...'

'Yes, you did,' he interrupted, 'you told me that when you wanted to forget those days...' his voice trailed off.

'Only from your death would those memories be able to rest in peace, Count.'

He stared at her, 'you haven't called me Count in years, _so_... you truly don't remember.'

'Remember what?' she asked, but seeing the look in his eyes, she added, 'forget I asked,' and turned away. Moments passed in silence, then...

'What are you doing here, anyway?' she asked him, not looking at him.

'I live here.'

'Then why am I here?'

'Because you live here.'

'How can we both live here?' She was dreading the answer.

His reply came in a soft voice, but it flowed like normal speech.

'Because,' she turned to look at him, 'you, Anna,' he was moving closer to her, 'are my,' his face _so_ close, 'bride,' he gently kissed her cheek.

'How long has it been?' she asked, her eyes not leaving his.

He stared at her, 'how long has _what_ been?'

'Since that night, the night Van Helsing tried to kill you?'

He smirked at her, 'you don't want to know.'

'Tell me!' she insisted, though she wasn't sure that she really wanted to know.

'Another time, perhaps, when you have remembered some of your past.' He smiled a knowing smile at her.

She forced herself out of the bed, throwing his hand off - the Count didn't look too pleased by this - and headed straight for the door. She couldn't help but wonder if she was high, at least that's what it felt like. Strangely her strength was gone, but the Count opened the door for her, without being asked. She found herself in another room. The room was very strange, yet, familiar...

She was wondering very much about the room that she didn't notice that someone else was nearby, 'Anna,' came a very pleased voice. Turning she saw a beautiful woman with long blonde hair.

'Lily,' said Dracula softly to the woman, giving her a quick kiss.

'Hello Master,' she said sweetly.

'Lily, Anna has amnesia.' explained the Count, 'The last thing she remembers is the night that is _forbidden to be mentioned_.'

Lily turned to Anna, (sounding sorry, though she doubted that she really was) 'you poor thing.'

'And who are you, Lily?' Anna asked, wanting to know more.

Dracula smiled, though Anna couldn't help but think it was a little false, 'Lily is my youngest bride.'

'Youngest bride?' Anna muttered thoughtfully. Dracula was watching her carefully.

'Anna, you know I have more than one bride.' Looking at him, she realised that he was right. Count Dracula, from what she could remember, used to have three brides. Verona, the eldest and strongest bride, was the one bride that did not play games. Verona was very commanding and knew what she was doing. She may even have been as old as Dracula. Marishka may not have been the eldest, but was into having fun, just as much as the annoying Aleera, who was very protective.

'You may wander the castle, Anna, if you wish, but it is advisable that you do not leave.' Dracula was acting very different towards her. She wasn't used to this behaviour, had he been telling the truth? Was Anna one of Dracula's brides?


	2. A Familiar Werewolf

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Two

A Familiar Werewolf

Walking through the corridors of Dracula's castle, Anna walks into the room where Van Helsing had fought Dracula. The question was had Van Helsing been killed. Had Dracula been killed and was this just a dream. She was shocked to see that the Dwergi had fixed up the laboratory. Walking past many Dwergi, some hard at work, others being lazy, Anna heard a noise that sounded like someone had kicked a Dwergi (hard). She heard a familiar voice shout, 'get back to work!' Walking around a corner, she saw the last person she'd expected to see.

'Igor?' the small hunched man looked up at her.

'Hello, Mistress, how are you, feeling better I hope?' It was strange to hear him talk to her like that, with such respect.

'Well the pain from my head is gone, but it seems so are some of my memories.' she admitted. It felt good to talk to someone other than Dracula or his brides, even though it was Igor. He looked like he might cry, but obviously thought the better of it.

'That is so sad, I hope you remember, soon.' he didn't smile as he walked passed her, kicking another Dwergi that looked like it was sunbaking, except that there was no sun, (Anna thought of it as _moon-_baking,), and continued with his work.

Thinking he was acting even stranger then even she'd known him, Anna continued to walk about the laboratory. A few minutes later she could hear roars of pain from her left. Following the sound, (unaware that she was being watched from a distance) she walked over to find out what was going on. She was surprised to see Igor, again. She knew that he had gone the other way and they hadn't crossed paths.

It took her some time to understand just exactly what she was seeing. Igor was holding a cattle prod and was poking it at a very large and hairy werewolf. Anna couldn't help but notice that the wolf was familiar...

'Van Helsing?' she asked it. It was like the world had stopped. The werewolf turned slowly towards her, and Igor took a step back. The werewolf started to turn human; in a few moments he was standing there in only tattered pants that had been ripped into shorts. He wore no shirt and his old bite was but a white scar.

'Anna, what are you doing here?' he asked bewildered as if he were wondering why she was even talking to him.

'Don't talk to the Mistress like that,' commanded Igor, as he prodded Van Helsing, sending a jolt through his body, causing him to scream in anguish.

'What do you mean what am I doing here.' What was wrong with Van Helsing? Had he forgotten their friendship, their love?

'You haven't spoken to me in years, why the change?' She told him about what had happened since she'd woken up, and even asked him if she was dreaming. Van Helsing looked solemn.

'No, this isn't a dream, Anna.' He said as Igor once again poked him with the cattle prod.

'Stop it!' shouted Anna, 'just leave him alone.' Igor gave her a peculiar look, as if he was just about to defy her, which he did.

'Sorry Mistress, but I've got orders.'

'Well I order you then.' She said half-heartedly, she had never liked to order people around. Igor was giving her the same disobeying look.

'If you wish to challenge them, then take it up with the _Master_, because my orders come from him.' She was sure she'd felt her heart sink. To ask Dracula to stop his torturing of Van Helsing, she knew she'd be pushing her luck.

She could do nothing to help Van Helsing at the current time, so she decided to try a different tactic.

'Then let me speak with him alone.' This seemed to surprise Igor, turning to stare at her he said, 'but the Master's orders...' but Anna immediately interrupted him, 'you won't be disobeying him, you'll just be taking my request, you can continue after I'm done.'

This seemed to please Igor, for she was right, he wouldn't be defying Dracula, for he had told Igor to follow the rule of his brides as well, as long as they didn't contradict his orders.

'Very well, you're lucky I have other things to do, but don't take long.'

'I won't.' She said, barely above a whisper. Igor puts away his prodder before he leaves them alone.

'And why, Van Helsing, would I stop talking to you?' she had to find out all she could. She knew Dracula would keep his word, about not telling her, until she remembered.

Van Helsing wasn't looking at her, 'because of what happened.'

'Why what happened?'

He turned to her, 'Dracula,' he said simply.

'And what has he got to do with it?' Van Helsing was watching her intently.

'Because, you're his _bride_,' after a pause he added, 'his _first_ bride.'

* * *

A/N: You are probably wondering _how Igor survived_?

I'm wondering _that_ myself...


	3. Finding The Ways

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Three

Finding The Ways

'First bride?' she said, stunned, 'like Verona had been?'

'Yes.'

'This cannot... It's not possible.' Anna was obviously in denial. She lowered her head.

'It's true, Anna,' he said, 'have I ever lied to you?'

She had to think about that for a moment. Looking at him, she said, 'no.'

They stared at each other for several minutes. After a while a voice was heard, 'all right, that's enough, I've got orders to carry out.' Igor had returned and he was holding his prodder, at the ready.

'I'll talk to you again, sometime, then?' she would have to ask more later, when more questions arose, and when they were alone to discuss them.

'Bye Anna,' was his simple reply, which caused him pain as Igor punished him, ('show some respect! ...sorry mistress, for my rudeness').

Anna left the room, heading for the walkway that led to the tower that had concealed the cure. She stood near the entrance she had left, looking across the bridge, she saw the tower, and she also saw that Dracula had done some repairs - the Dwergi did all the work – for the bridge was fixed.

* * *

Looking out the window, some distance above Anna, stood a dark figure, watching her.

'Master,' asked a redheaded woman, standing some distance behind him. He didn't turn to look at her.

'Keep an eye on Anna,' he commanded softly, 'I am worried.'

'Yes, my lord,' she said, then turned and left.

'Gabriel.' He called. It didn't take long for Van Helsing to land a well-aimed leap, behind him, some distance to his left.

'What do you want, Count?' he answered, aggressively.

Dracula turned to look at Van Helsing, 'show some respect, Gabriel.'

'Never.'

'Just for that,' he said softly. He could see that Van Helsing was half expecting him to say something more, but then he called, 'Igor.'

He heard a familiar voice, say, 'yes, Master.'

'I think Van Helsing needs a little _more_ discipline.' Dracula's words caused Van Helsing to flinch, obviously thinking of the pain that was to be inflicted. Igor had now come to stand some distance to Dracula's left.

'Yes, Master.' He said bowing slightly, and then to Van Helsing, he said, 'this way.' Igor headed back to where Anna had discovered them earlier.

Dracula was watching his old friend carefully; Van Helsing seemed to be hesitating.

'Why did you call me?' he asked Dracula, to his surprise, but never the less, what he'd been _hoping_ for.

* * *

'_How can I figure out the truth? What would be the first step?_

_A mirror? But no, Dracula wouldn't have a mirror in his castle, surely?'_

Looking around, Anna noticed that it had rained recently, for why else would there be puddles of water on the bridge?

'_No, a reflection!'_

Summoning all her courage, she approached the nearest one. She was terrified to know the answer, her heart should have been racing, but it wasn't, at least from what she could hear, in fact she couldn't hear it at all. Maybe she was that scared she couldn't hear it, yes that had to be it. She wasn't a vampire; she couldn't be... could she?

She was now almost at the puddle, her reflection would be visible; soon, very soon she would know the answer. She took the last step to the puddle, her eyes shut tight, in fear.

Slowly, she opened them...

* * *

A/N: Sorry this chapter is a bit short, but I just had to leave this as a cliff-hanger.


	4. Reflection

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Four

Reflection

What she saw was not what she had wanted to see.

Looking down into the puddle of water, to her horror, she saw...nothing? There was nothing there, at least nothing that resembled Anna Valerious, even in the slightest. The water only reflected the night sky above her, a small piece of the castle, nothing more, nothing less.

'No, I can't... I'm not... this is impossible... but how?'

Sighing, Anna heard a noise some distance behind her. She spun around, only to see a redheaded woman, with pale skin, her brown eyes watching her.

'I'm glad you're alright, Anna.' She said, 'The name's Rose.' She extended her hand.

'Are you the other bride?' Anna didn't take her hand.

The woman nodded, lowering her hand, 'Lily's the youngest...'

'...And I'm the oldest.' The woman stared at her. Anna had finished her sentence, although by the look on Rose's face, what she'd said wasn't what she was going to say.

'Does this mean you remember?'

Anna thought about it for a few moments.

'Not really,' Rose looked disappointed, as Anna realised that she _did_ remember, 'I mean yes I do, a little.' This statement made Rose's face light up with hope.

'You do? Really? What do you remember?'

'I don't really understand it. It's like a taste in the mouth. I can't get rid of it, whatever it is.'

'That's probably just blood, vampires never forget the taste, or at least the taste never leaves them.'

'No. No, Rose it's not blood, I know what _that_ tastes like, even before I'd become a vampire. It's something else, something I can't get rid of, and yet...' she fell silent for a few moments, a look of, what could've resembled thought, in her eyes, 'I feel like I don't want to get rid of it,' she looked directly at Rose, 'you know.'

'Hmm, that sounds familiar, somehow. Is that all you can remember?' Rose's curiosity wasn't the least bit annoying.

Strange.

'One other thing, and it's even harder to describe.'

'How can it be harder?'

'It's like an urge, yet not an urge.'

Rose was obviously confused. Anna sighed, as she tried to find a way to describe the feeling. She knew she'd touched it before, she knew what it was, surely?

Just as Rose was about to ask her something, Anna whispered something inaudible.

'Sorry didn't catch that.'

'Silk,' Anna paused, her hand moving in a way that resembled feeling some kind of fabric, '_black_ silk.'

'Black silk?'

'But _where_ in the castle could I find black silk?'

Rose looked thoughtful; 'you can only find it in two places.'

'Where?' asked Anna, surprising herself at how quickly she had asked - did she really want to know?

But Rose shook her head, 'I'm not the one to ask.'

Anna felt like she was a fragile porcelain doll that had just been dropped. Her heart sank faster then Van Helsing had at the ball, and deeper then the Titanic. Though she had no idea _why_.

'Then tell me why I would have an urge to touch black silk?'

Rose shrugged in a un-Rose way – although Anna didn't know this, but she noticed that it didn't suit her.

'I have no idea; perhaps you should ask the Master. He would most likely know. After all it is _his_ castle.'

Ask Dracula? She'd sooner _bite_ him, but instead of voicing this opinion, she said, 'Anyone else I could ask?'

'I wouldn't ask Lily, you never got along with her, she's _always_ jealous of you.'

'Why would she be jealous of _me_?'

'You're the Master's first bride, you're kind of like his favourite.'

'What about you Rose?'

'_Me?'_ asked rose surprised, 'I'm never jealous of you. You and I always got along, ask the Master if you don't believe me, cause Lily would lie and try to break the harmony between us and the master.'

'You can have him, I don't want him.'

Rose looked mortified, as if she'd just watched Dracula get murdered, right before her very eyes.

'You're just saying that because you can't remember!'

She'd had enough of Rose, 'I'll see you later then,' besides she needed rest after learning all this, the knowledge was beginning to weigh down on her.

Walking through the castle she looked for a quiet place where she could sleep undisturbed and away from Dracula, and his brides.


	5. Disgrace Never To Be Forgiven

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Five

Disgrace Never To Be Forgiven

Since she couldn't find a place that was secluded, she went to sleep on the red couch in the laboratory.

While she slept, she had a visitor.

'Sleep well Anna,' but her visitor wasn't a well-wisher, it had been said spitefully.

Two hours before sunrise, Dracula discovered Anna sleeping there. He sat down beside her, and watched her sleep.

Another hour passed.

Dracula kissed Anna gently on her forehead, before leaving her to sleep.

'Remember what we discussed, Gabriel.' He said as he passed him, on his way out.

'Of course I do.' Van Helsing was standing in the shadows, near the wall.

Anna slept undisturbed, that was until the night was re-approaching. Anna's detractor arrived at sunset, about an hour before the Count tended to get up. But whoever it was didn't know that Van Helsing was nearby and fully aware.

'Good bye, Anna, have sweet dreams.' The unknown figure held a stake above their head, ready to plunge it into Anna's heart.

At that moment Van Helsing attacked the attempting murderer – which woke Anna – and dragged the attacker away to see their fate.

Confused to see Van Helsing as a fully-fledged werewolf – since it was still daytime, so there was obviously no moon – she laid back down to sleep another hour.

* * *

Pacing in his chambers, Dracula was angry. Not only because the attack on Anna's life had come during his sleep, - which he hadn't got much of lately - or that Van Helsing had awoken him. The main reason was because of _who_ had attempted to kill Anna.

Stopping his pacing, he turned to Van Helsing, 'and this is what happened?' Van Helsing had relayed what he had seen and done. He had also said that Anna had been disturbed, but as he'd left, she'd gone back to sleep.

'Yes, that's what happened.'

Dracula looked grave, 'you are charged with treason,' he paused, finding it hard to continue, he never had to do this before, not with his brides, he'd never _needed_ to, 'which is punishable by death.'

'No Master, please!' she pleaded, taking hold of his clothes in desperation, 'I didn't do it!'

'Lily,' he said angrily, causing her to let go. Calming down he continued, 'just because Gabriel told me doesn't mean I didn't already know,' he paused, looking straight into her eyes, 'which I already did.'

He started pacing again, 'I knew I wasn't going to be able to be beside Anna to protect her because of her loss of memory, so I had Van Helsing keep watch over her while she slept,' he turned to face her, 'I already knew. I suspected you, Lily...'

'But I didn't do it,' interrupted Lily.

'And yet here you are!' He shouts, throwing out his arms to emphasis this fact.

Dracula sighed, lowering his arms, 'Anna will be asked of your fate, depending on what she says, I _may _change my mind,' he looked into Lily's eyes. Severely.

* * *

'Anna!' came a voice; it sounded so far away...

'Anna!'

Anna slowly opened her eyes, for a moment her vision is blurred, but it soon clears. Wiping the sleepiness from her eyes, she sees the owner of the voice.

'What do you want?' she asked, irritated.

Dracula explains about the protection he had placed for her and the attempted murder on her life.

'Well, and I thought it couldn't get any interesting around here,' she said sardonically.

'Now's not the time for sarcasm, Anna,' he said, trying not to laugh, although a small smile passed onto his lips, 'do you want her punished?'

'Why you asking me?'

Dracula sighed, 'Lily is charged with treason.'

Anna gave a slight shrug, 'so?'

His eyebrows rose involuntarily, 'which is punishable by death.'

His words caused her to sit up. Since he was sitting beside her, her face became close to his.

'What?'

He sighed, again. He seemed to notice that he was doing a lot of sighing lately, if only Anna hadn't gotten amnesia, this would never have happened, and she wouldn't have had to sleep out here, away from him.

'Anna this kind of treachery is only punishable by death; there is no other sentence. Do you want to go ahead with this?'

'Why should I even speak, you always make your own decisions. You never ask your brides for advice, so why ask me?'

'Because it was your life that was almost taken, I'd hate to think what would have happened hadn't I noticed Lily's tone last night after you woke up. Normally you would have _too_, but since you've _lost_ your memory, I knew you didn't know the _danger_ you were in, so I had to _act_, and I had to act _fast_.'

Anna suddenly realised something.

'_You_ sent Rose to look out for me?'

'Yes.' And she had pushed her away? Oh, how stupid she had been!

'And then _you_ sent Van Helsing. You've protected me, _why_?'

'Anna, you're _my_ bride.' There wasn't even a breath between his last word and her first.

'_And_ so is Lily!'

'But you're _not_ like Lily, you're not crazy, jealous, or spiteful, you're none of these things. Besides, I'm beginning to think that Lily was a mistake, the first bride I'd _ever_ made a mistake in.'

He sighed with great sadness.

'Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a bride to execute.' His words were very heavy.


	6. The Verdict

A/N: Poor Lily, just makes you won't to cry!

:0 Anna shows some _flare!

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_

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Six

The Verdict

Lily's sentence was death by sunlight execution, and was set to take place the following morning. In the meantime, Anna went to see her, outside. She was placed where the first rays of sunlight would undoubtedly reach her. The sunrise would be the last thing Lily would ever see.

'Hello Anna,' came her sad voice, was this remorse?

'Hello, Lily.'

'I'm sorry for what I did, if you'd never got amnesia; I'd probably never done it. The Master had always warned me of what would happen if I didn't get a grip on myself. I don't blame you; it was my fault, my stupidity,' she paused, 'can you forgive me?'

'I already forgive you.' Lily gave her a small smile.

'Can you do me a favour?' she asked, a tear running down her face.

'What kind of favour?' Anna asked, suspiciously.

'Can you look after him? Take care of him forever?'

Anna stayed quiet; she knew Lily wasn't finished yet.

'Can you love him, for me, if not for yourself?'

'I'll try.'

'No please, this is my dieing wish.' For the first time since Anna had arrived to see Lily tied up to die, Lily looked at her, right into her eyes, and Anna looked right back into those tearstained eyes, _'please.'_

Anna didn't know what to say, she could feel her anger rising, 'where is he?'

Lily stared at her, 'where's _who_?'

Anna was about to say "Dracula", but thought better of it. If she was going to try, like Lily wanted, she'd better call him something else.

Taking a deep breath, she almost blurted it out, if she hadn't managed to carefully push it past her lips.

'Our lord and master,' - lily gasped, with hiccups, because of her crying - 'why, who did you think I meant?'

Lily smiled, 'thank you Anna, I appreciate it, and I know that was hard for you.'

'So, do you know where he is?'

Lily nodded, another tear running down her face, 'his in his chambers. He said he'd come and see me later.'

Leaving Lily to herself - much to Lily's protest - Anna went to find Dracula.

* * *

She slammed her hands down on the table, causing Dracula to jump involuntarily. Turning his head to see who it was, he saw Anna.

'Anna, what's the matter?' he asked, cautiously. How had she got in, without him noticing?

'I'm giving you _two_ choices,' – he frowned – 'either _you_ bring her inside, or _I _will!'

'What are you talking about, Anna?'

'Lily, I'm talking about Lily!'

He stared at her, obviously not understanding. Slowly he rose from his seat by the fireplace, and cautiously approached her. When he reached the table, he saw how furious she _really_ was. Gently he placed his hands on hers, she didn't even twitch, nor did she remove her hands.

Strange.

Although he didn't lean onto her hands, he did move his face closer to hers. She didn't seem to mind.

'What about Lily?' he asked softly, but Anna raised an eyebrow, so he added, 'I'm going to go see her shortly.'

'Then you can bring her in with you.' Her tone implied that this wasn't a request.

'Where do you get off ordering me what to do?' he asked, raising an eyebrow. He'd tried to keep his tone as level as he could.

'Since you had Lily put out there, tied to a bloody post!'

It was dark outside, and cold, though it didn't bother him, not in the slightest, he liked the cold; it had a nice soothingness to it.

He was watching her, as tears flowed down her face. Tied to a post, Lily was obviously extremely disheartened.

'Lily,' he said softly. He was standing to her left.

'Master,' she whispered back, barely moving, she didn't even open her eyes to look at him.

'Lily, look at me,' he said even softer, so soft that, at first, he thought she hadn't heard him.

Slowly she opened her teary eyes, 'you shouldn't even have come out to see me; I'm not worth it.'

He gently touched her cheek, but she shied away from him, 'I'm not worthy of your touch.'

Coming close to her, he whispered, '_I_ determine _who_ is worthy.'

He placed his right hand against her left cheek, and when she moved away from his touch, he gently placed his other hand on her other cheek.

* * *

A/N: Anna has secretly made a promise, though she obviously didn't say, "I Promise", but it was obvious to Lily that she had made the promise. The question is: _Will she keep it?_


	7. Conversation

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Seven

Conversation

'Sunrise is soon, you'd best go to bed.' Dracula told them, as they entered _his_ bedroom.

'Good day, my lord.'

'Good day, Master.'

'Sleep well,' he said softly.

He closed the door, as they set themselves down on his bed. The head of the bed was against the right wall. The covers were folded back at the bottom, lest he wanted their company during sleep, - which was more often, then not - but he had something else to do at that moment, before joining them.

Dracula strode over to his seat by the fire, – which had run down to nothing – he laid his left hand on the top right of the sofa, (since he was standing to the right of the sofa). Suddenly he stopped beside the sofa, as he noticed something that surprised him.

There, in the sofa, her head on its right side, lying upon her loosely folded arms on the right armchair, sound asleep, was Anna.

Smiling, Dracula crouched down to her level, although he'd rather not wake her; he had told her that he'd wanted a word with her, when he'd got back.

'Anna,' he whispered, gently pushing her hair out of her face.

'Yes,' she whispered, sleepily.

He lovingly touched her cheek, 'Anna, wake up.'

She tiredly opened her eyes. The Count couldn't help but notice that she wasn't objecting to his touch.

_Odd._

Although he suspected this was because she was tired.

'You look tired,' Anna said, suppressing a yawn.

'So do you.' He gave her a small smile.

'When was the last time you slept?'

'I haven't had _good_ sleep, since the day before the night; you had your loss of consciousness.'

'How long ago was that?'

'About a month,' he paused, 'you'll need to feed soon.'

'Too bad I don't remember _how_ to.' He couldn't place her tone.

'I'll teach you,' he said, reassuring her, as he gave her a warm smile.

'So how's Lily?'

'You can go and see her if you like. She's in my bedroom, probably asleep by now.'

Anna managed to get herself up, and with the Count following behind her; she went to his bedroom door. After she had opened the door, she saw Lily and Rose asleep on his bed, the covers folded neatly at the bottom. Anna turned to Dracula, but what she did next, surprised him beyond everything she had done, since she had awoken with amnesia.

She kissed him on the cheek and whispered bashfully, 'thank you.'

The Count didn't know what to say, but he managed a, 'you're welcome.'

'Have a good sleep,' she whispered.

'Anna, where're you going to sleep?' he asked worried. He didn't want a similar incident as before. She went to say something, but stopped. For a few moments she stood there bitting her bottom lip.

'I don't know,' came her soft voice as she lowered her head.

'I would rather you came in here, with _me_,' – indicating his bedroom, where Lily and Rose were sleeping – 'at least that way, I _know_ you're safe.'

She thought about it for several minutes.

'I'd rather sleep by myself,' - she gave him a _look_ - 'if that's alright with you?' He knew she wasn't _really_ asking for his opinion, she had done this before, but of course, _she_ didn't know.

_Or did she?_

'That's fine by me, you _don't_ have to, _and_ neither does Rose or Lily.'

'_Why_, then, are they in there _now_?'

Dracula was starting to get irritated by Anna's amnesia, _why did he have to explain something that was obvious?_

'Either _I _want _their_ company, or _they_ want _mine_. Just like _you_, Anna, _they_ have their _own_ _rooms_, and their _own_ _needs_. Like _me_, they like to have their _alone time_, too.'

What he's said, made a lot of sense, but what intrigued her, the most about what he'd said, was that she had her _own room_. Not to mention, that his words were all too _familiar_...

'What was it you wanted to talk to me about?' she asked politely. Such respect surprised him, although the way she had acted towards Lily, had been surprising enough.

'I have several things to talk to you about, though I will start with Lily.'

'What about Lily?'

'I know you don't remember, but you and Lily never got along.'

'Never got along?'

Dracula raised an eyebrow, 'you tried to _kill each other_,' - Anna was staring at him in disbelief - 'As a matter of fact, I'm surprised you came to me, asking for her freedom, and didn't leave her out there, to die. Would you care to explain?' Anna knew he wasn't asking.

'I don't know what to tell you, I just feel like this place needs a change.'

Dracula scowled, 'of course it does. I'd like there to be harmony in my castle, not my oldest and youngest brides trying to kill each other whenever I'm not looking.'

Anna gave a short laugh, 'is that true? Do we really hate each other _that_ much?'

Dracula seemed oddly grave, 'yes.' Dracula was obviously curious as to why she had wanted Lily to go free, but what about Lily's words. Did he know about the promise? She doubted it; otherwise he'd have already asked about it, _wouldn't he?_

'What else did you want to talk to me about?' What if it was about the forgivingness she had shown Lily, or the silent promise she hadn't spoken?

'Rose told me about what you remember; I'd _hoped_ you'd want to talk about it?'

Last night she'd felt like she'd rather bite him then ask him, _anything_. It still felt the same, but Anna knew it was better to have a happy pleasant Dracula hanging around, then an angry one.

'Yes I'll talk about it, but what's to say?'

He smiled at her. 'Have you figured out what _this_ taste is?'

'No, but I know it's not blood.' Nodding, he agreed with her, however he had a feeling he _knew _what the taste was.

'What's with this urge, you have, to touch black silk? Why Black, and not some other colour?' He watched her, she was obviously thinking _hard _about this one.

'I remembered feeling silk, as a fragment of a memory came to mind, but I could only see black. As to _why_ I have an urge to touch black silk,' she paused, 'I wasn't being fully honest with Rose.'

Dracula frowned, 'what do you mean? _Did you lie to her?'_

'No,' she said, shaking her head, 'only that,' she paused, 'I didn't tell the _whole_ truth.'

'Will you tell _me?_' Looking into his eyes, there was a look there she didn't understand, but she nodded anyway.

'As much as I _urge_,' – she put emphasis to the word - 'it's more what lies _beneath_ the black silk that I _yearn_ to touch.' As she finished her words, a dreamy look came over her eyes.

'There are only two places in my castle were black silk can be found.' He watched Anna carefully; he noted that she was very apprehensive, though she tried to hide it. When would Anna learn, she could _never_ hide the way she felt, not from _him_. 'One you have already discovered.'

'_I have?'_ Thinking back, she realised that she had. 'The bed!' Why hadn't she thought of it before?

'Correct. Although the other one you shouldn't know.'

'Did I know it when I had my memories?'

'Yes, you did, you'd have had to.'

She frowned in confusion, 'what do you mean, _I'd have had to?_'

He smiled, but shook his head all the same.

'Your memories aren't complete enough,' - Anna looked disheartened - 'Come Anna, I'll take you to your room.' He led her away to the right of his bedroom. Reaching the door, she noticed a little sign that read, 'Anna's Room.' Smiling to herself, she opened the door.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to everyone for the reviews!

Especially to VintageLyre, thanks for the reviews, you got me thinking about that, and I managed to improve this chapter, before I posted it.

As for your question, I hope this chapter answers it. And yes, it is that kind of ending.

Vamp hugs for all! (I just _love_ vampires! Especially Dracula.)


	8. Why Do You Hate Me

A/N: The reason this wasn't here a little faster, was because I had to think of what Anna's room looked like, and what was going to happen in this chapter.

Just so you know, I never name the chapter until I've written it. The heading just seems to come to me. (As they do with _any_ story I write)

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Eight

Why Do You Hate Me

Anna was surprised at what she found inside. Her bedroom was larger then it had been back in her family home. The bed head of her queen-sized bed was against the back wall. The covers and pillows were made of silk in a dark purple that was so dark it was almost a light black. To the left of the room was what appeared to be a wall-to-wall wardrobe, while on the right side was a large dressing-table with a mirror, beside it was a small bookshelf, which was full of a quantity of Anna's books from home.

'I see you like it.' Said Dracula, drawing her back into her whereabouts. He wasn't asking her what she thought of it, he obviously already knew. And he knew she knew this.

Anna glided over to the bed; she was suddenly very tired. Dracula came to stand next to her. Pulling the covers back, Dracula helped her into her bed, and then proceeded to tuck her in.

'Sleep well Anna.' He whispered softly to her. Leaning forward, he gently kissed her forehead. He was surprised to find that she didn't seem to mind, until he noticed that she was asleep, more asleep then the dead.

Smiling, he left, only to pause and look back at her before he closed the door. Thinking that Lily and Rose would be getting worried that he wasn't in bed, he went into his bedroom, only to found that they too were just as much asleep.

Thinking he might finally get a non-restless night's sleep, he somehow got into the middle of the bed – between Lily and Rose – and almost immediately fell asleep.

* * *

When the night reapproached Anna was the first to wake. Her mind was obviously not used to the room, because at first she hadn't known where she was. Her body clearly knew the bed well, because she had slept well.

Leaving her room, she stepped out into the living room, as they called it, mainly because they tended to "live" there. The room was lavish and luxurious. It was strangely decorated, and obviously suited well to Dracula's personality. Although it had things that Anna couldn't identify with, the names of which escaped her. There were several doors leading out of the living room.

Strangely she hadn't taken much notice of the room, until now.

Having wandered around, she now stood in front of the one door that led out into the castle. Looking around the room, she saw three doors to her right, Anna's being the furthest back from where she was standing; it was also the closest room to Dracula's. The other two had to be Lily's and Rose's bedrooms. On the left side of the room was another door, _where did it lead?_

Following along the wall that had the unknown door, she reached the corner. The corner turned away from her, heading to the left. Against the wall, near her was some comfortable furniture. A sofa was against the wall of the unknown room and two more sofas on the other wall that led to the fireplace at the back of the room, to the left of Dracula's bedroom. Some distance from the fireplace sat a chair (the same chair that Dracula had been sitting in, when she'd slammed her fist down the previous night). The table – about two feet from the sofas against the wall – was sitting some distance to the left of the chandelier, which situated around about the centre of the room.

At the very back of the room parallel to the exit, was Dracula's bedroom. The door was higher up then the rest, and there were stairs leading to the door. The stairs were one of those types that widened at the bottom that seemed to fan out. The stairs were covered by a black velvet carpet – like the rest of the living room, though this was more expensive and there was less of it – and had polished black hand-railings.

'Anna?'

She jumped at the voice and tuned around. Anna, having been standing under the chandelier, staring at Dracula's bedroom door, hadn't heard the door to the unknown room open and close. There, standing in front of the door, was Lily.

'Hi, Lily.' Anna was worried that Lily still meant her harm, and until she was certain that wasn't going to happen would she begin to trust her. True, she had forgiven Lily, but trust was still a long way away. Lily put a finger to her lips as if to say, "shush."

'The master is sleeping. He needs his rest after how little sleep he's had.' Anna remembered what Dracula had said about his sleep, or lack of.

'Why would he have such little sleep?' Anna asked, making her voice almost a whisper.

'You were unconscious and he refused to leave your side, because he was worried for you.' Anna didn't know what to say. Dracula was worried about _her_?

'Lily?'

'Yes, Anna?' Lily was obviously curious, for her eyes - which was the part of her that always betrayed her - couldn't hide her emotion.

'Why do we hate each other?'

'I don't understand, you don't hate the master, you never have.'

Anna shook her head, 'no, you and me.' Lily looked like she didn't want to talk about it, but Anna's gaze made her nervous.

'_At least the real Anna's still in there somewhere,'_ thought Lily, with a small smile. The real Anna as far as Lily knew, for she didn't know how Dracula and Anna had gotten together, or that Anna had hated Dracula.

'I told you, I was stupid to be jealous of you, and even though the master loves you more then he loves us, he does love us.' So that was it. Lily had been jealous because Dracula loved her more then he loved Lily or Rose. Was it because Dracula had stayed at her side, without leaving? Or was this rivalry before then?

'When did this all start?' Anna wanted to know; she felt she _needed_ to know.

'When I became a bride, you didn't have anything against me, but I had at first had it in for you and Rose, I thought I was the only one, but I soon discovered you two. I later realised that it was you Dracula loved above Rose, and me. I'd told Rose, but she wasn't bothered by it, and never hated you. The two of you always got along.'

'Why couldn't you be like Rose, why would you hate me, shouldn't you have hated him, for not telling you?'

'No,' whispered Lily outraged, 'I love him too much to ever hate him, but you only defended yourself or simply got revenge for whatever I did to you. You never really hated me, you knew I was just jealous.'

'Where is Rose anyway?' Anna hadn't really seen Rose since she'd met her on the bridge – not including when Rose was asleep on Dracula's bed, with Lily.

* * *

A/N: Sorry I had to leave it there. The conversation between Lily and Anna changed, and I thought it would be best to continue the next chapter from there.

And I've fallen behind due to health and homework, but now I'm fine, and I wanted to get this chapter to you. So I hope you enjoyed.

Dracula and Anna hugs!


	9. The Unknown Room

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Nine

The Unknown Room

'She's having a bath,' said Lily, pointing her thumb to the door behind her.

'That's a bathroom?' The unknown room was a _bathroom?_

Lily walked past Anna, 'yes that's the bathroom, _why_, what'd you think it was?'

'I didn't think it was anything,' she replied bluntly. Which was the truth, since she hadn't known what it was. Lily headed to the far right room; if that was Lily's room, then the centre room would have to be Rose's.

After Lily had disappeared into her bedroom, Anna turned back to the bathroom. She had thought that she was the only one up, but she had thought wrong. It seemed that there was only one who had not yet risen. Dracula.

Not knowing the last time she'd had a bath, she knocked on the door before entering.

Inside was a large room with a large bath, which was big enough to be called a small pool, covering the back left corner, (and then some). To the left was a bench with what was evidently for clean clothes, since there were three sets. Two were women's clothes, one red, the other a very dark purple, while the black clothes were obviously Dracula's.

To the right of the room was a strange looking metal box in the wall, while next to it was a rack with four different coloured towels – red, pink, dark purple and black – with names written on white on each towel.

Turning her attention back to the bath, she noticed something odd. Although the bath was big, that was not what she found odd. Throughout the bath were what looked-like little holes. Strange.

'Oh, hi Anna. I didn't see you there.' Rose was sitting in the right corner of the bath, she had her left side to the door, but not fully, it was at an angle. Since her head was turned, looking at Anna, her chin gently touched her left shoulder.

'You look as if you haven't seen a bath before!' stated Rose flatly, though there was a hint of mirth. Rose's words caught her attention and pulled her out of her thoughts.

'It's just these little holes,' Anna muttered, pointing at the nearest one. Rose was looking at her as if she had three heads, or something. Anna couldn't help but find it a little unnerving.

'The holes cause nice feeling bubbles and relaxes you. This type of bath is called a _spa bath_.' Rose sounded out the last words as if she were trying to teach a child how to speak.

'Spa bath,' Anna muttered thoughtfully. She'd never had such a contraption, nor had she heard of one.

_Just how long had she been a vampire?_

And there was only one way to find out. She _had_ to remember.

Pulling herself back to reality, Anna stripped off, and got into the bath. She needed one.

'When was the last time I'd had a bath?' she asked Rose, not sure she really wanted to know. Rose appeared to be deep in thought.

'We'd had a bath, then went out to feed.' She recounted, thinking back, 'then you were attacked, you were brought back here, and then you woke up a month later.'

Anna remained silent, allowing this new piece of information to sink in. Carefully, Anna pulled Rose's words into pieces, to better comprehend what she had just heard.

It had been a month since she'd last had a bath. They went out to kill people, so that they could survive. She was attacked, most likely the reason for her unconsciousness and amnesia. Was brought back to the castle, but who had carried her? Lily, Rose? Surely it wasn't Dracula, _was it?_ Well he had stayed by her side for a month, without ever leaving. Did that mean he cared? Did he actually have a heart?

Putting away these thoughts for later, Anna started to scrub herself clean. Rose left ten minutes later, while Anna stayed, continuing to scrub, just to make sure she was clean, considering how long it had been since she'd last bathed.

Not knowing that Lily and Rose had gone elsewhere in the castle, or that a certain vampire was no longer in his bedroom, she fell asleep. Her energy just seemed to be drained lately.

* * *

Having gotten out of bed, he found that no one was in the living room. He sensed that his brides weren't in their rooms; they were elsewhere in the castle, except for one...

Striding into the bathroom – well he did need a bath – he discovered Anna lying against the outer wall of the tub in a way that kept her from becoming submerged.

Seeing the way she was sleeping caused him to smile. He often wondered how she did things like this, while remaining comfortable.

Not wanting to disturb her, since she looked so peaceful, he slipped out of his clothes and quietly slid into the water.

* * *

A/N: How will she react when she wakes up, only to find Dracula?

The things I put her through!

_I'm just evil aren't I?_


	10. Emotional And Mental Stress

I'm sorry this took so long, but I've had some nasty weather, and wasn't able to so much as turn my computer on, which almost drove me half-crazy... Oh, wait! Wasn't I already crazy?

Sorry it's a bit short – hope you like it

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Ten

Emotional And Mental Stress

Dracula was trying not to make a sound in the comfortable waters of the spa bath. Little did he realise that this tranquilness was about to be shattered, like glass, into a thousand pieces.

Anna didn't know how long she slept; all she knew was that she didn't dream. The smallest noise bothered her. She could hear water moving, as if someone was trying not to disturb her.

She started to wake, her eyes slowly opened...

A sudden scream in shock caused the Count to jump - which causes him to drop the soap into the water - as if Igor had just zapped him on his bottom with his cattle prod. He turns to stare at Anna, who is staring at him as if she thinks she's crazy, or is seeing things.

She covers her chest by folding her arms, since she doesn't have a towel close at hand, and looks away from him, to her right, becoming still, and quiet.

After what felt like several minutes, Anna realises that Dracula is _still_ staring at her, so she turns to give him a look of intense hatred, but notices that his eyes are higher then she'd expected.

Anna knew all the rumours and stories about Dracula. She'd had to learn, like her father used to always say, _"Know your enemy."_ And that's exactly what she'd done. She'd gotten to know him from every bit of information she could find. How he was a womaniser, and only liked women for their beauty, and strength. Had the rumours and stories been _wrong?_

It wouldn't be the _first_ time.

He had been looking at her face, but now that she was looking at him, he was looking into her eyes. She felt really strange, like she wanted to go to him, but couldn't.

She felt torn inside.

She tried to relax; the Count couldn't be all _that_ bad, he was considered a gentleman after all. And even though they had been enemies, Dracula had – to some degree – been a gentleman towards her, even when she'd tried to kill him with a wooden stake the first time they'd met, when she was sixteen.

And hadn't she made a promise?

Yes, she had made a promise, but not just one, that was the whole problem. To Lily she had promised to love Dracula, and to care for him, but she'd also made a promise to her brother, Velkin, to destroy Dracula. These two things _alone_ were tearing at her heart.

No wonder she felt so torn inside...

Anna was so caught up in her thoughts that she'd _almost_ forgotten that Dracula was there – though that was an impossible feat – still staring at her.

Anna remained with her arms crossed, staring right back at him. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was fighting, not to "look" at him, but in the edges of her vision, she couldn't help but "see" him.

Dracula didn't seem to notice, or at least, he paid it no mind, for the Count was now looking for the soap he had lost, while he did this, he sensed that Anna was leaving.

Anna, full to exploding point with embarrassment, had grabbed her clothes on her way out. In the living room, she rushed to put them on, then sped out the door that led to the rest of the castle.

Dracula, after finally finding the soap, continued to wash himself until he was smelt like wild flowers, from all the washing. Like Anna he hadn't had a bath either...

* * *

Lily and Rose had left to hunt, while Anna spent her night trying to avoid Count Dracula, to no avail. After only an hour and a half, she ran in to him, literally.

The force, with which they collided, caused her to fall to the floor. Had the Count not been a gentleman, and have so fast a reflex, Anna would have landed on her bottom.

Instead the Count caught her in his arms.

There was a brief tender moment where they looked into each other's eyes. Dracula, before he could stop himself, came closer to her lips. Anna was doing the same thing, and just before their lips met, Anna suddenly realised what she was doing and pulled herself away from him.

* * *

A/N: I called this chapter, "Emotional And Mental Stress" because that's exactly how Anna is. You can tell by her thoughts, feelings, and the way she reacts.

I know a Mary-sue is a bad thing, but I can't remember what it actually it, (all I know is that they scream... a lot!) which is why this chapter was hard, because I didn't want Anna to look like a Mary-sue, because she isn't. (After all, she only screamed once!)

Like I said before, this – and all my stories – had been delayed due to bad weather, mainly just thunderstorms, and the like.


	11. To The Hunt

To VintageLyre: Yeah, she starts to remember, (just little things at first) but her feelings take a little longer – that's more for part two – she's at the point where she's really uncertain about being a vampire. You know shock and disbelief, though she does get to know Dracula better then she did when she was human. She begins to understand him.

Wow! This really is my most popular fan fiction, a thousand hits!

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Eleven

To The Hunt

Anna didn't want to think about what had _almost_ happened, what _she'd_ _almost_ done. Lily and Rose had come back from their hunt; it was time she hunted...

'Do we usually hunt separate like this?' Anna asked, sure that the brides hunted together, and that the Count usually hunted alone.

'No, my dear Anna, we usually hunt together, for safety, but I figured it would be better for you if I hunted with you alone,' he paused, and looked at her, 'so that you could learn.'

Learning how to hunt her own people – for she still, somewhere in the back of her mind, thought she was human – she found it hard to concentrate on hunting them, which only annoyed Dracula, although he kept his cool.

Since it would take too long to learn to fly, much to Anna's silent protests, Dracula had carried her to a place not far from the village.

'It's not far now, we can walk the rest of the way, should only take a few minutes.' And they set off for the village, which could be seen through the trees some distance in front of them, halfway to the right.

Several minutes passed in silence, as they walked. It seemed neither was up for conversation, especially after what had happened only minutes ago.

Anna dared to speak.

'About earlier...' he immediately interrupted, 'forget about it, I shouldn't have done that.' Surely that wasn't how he felt about it. She stared at him in disbelief while they walked which was when she didn't see the stone sticking up out of the ground...

It happened so fast, Anna didn't realise what had happened until she found herself in the Count's arms once again, staring into his eyes. Before anything else might happen, he stood her upright – in a gentleman's manner of course – and proceeded towards the village.

Anna, feeling disconcerted, followed.

* * *

'Igor, do this, Igor do that!' complained Igor, as he took a short break while his Master was away, since if he was around when he did it, he'd be in _big_ trouble. Lily and Rose hadn't even _talked_ to him when they'd got back, though it's not like they ever did...

Kicking a Dwergi, he got stuck back into his work.

'Rose, do you think Anna will ever remember?' asked Lily from above - watching Igor muttering to himself as he worked – Rose was in the small room off to her right, lying on the Count's _very_ comfortable couch, obviously waiting for Anna and Dracula to return.

'I don't know, we'll just have to wait and see.' Rose was wondering whether Lily really was sorry for the things she'd done to Anna, but Lily knew the consequences if she so much as thought of doing it again. She'd meant what she'd said, but Rose knew Anna quite well.

It would be some time, she knew, that Anna would come to trust Lily.

Rose didn't really think about the consequences from the Count if he should catch her there, but she didn't care. She made herself comfortable, as Lily came to sit in the Count's chair instead (since Rose had the _whole_ couch to herself) which would put her in a worse position then Rose.

* * *

Although the night air was cold, vampires didn't really feel it, though it tended to give some a calming effect...

Anna, strangely felt calmer then she had been mere minutes ago. They were now standing outside an old house at the outskirts of the village, where it was said a man lived. Ever since he had made Anna his bride, something about her had changed his old ways...

'So,' whispered Anna, hesitantly, 'what poor soul are we going to kill here in this old, seemingly abandoned, house?' She didn't have the courage to look him in the eyes, besides she was too worried about the fact that she had to kill someone.

'That so-called poor soul you mentioned is going to Hell anyway, and it will have nothing to do with you, or me.' Anna spun on her feet to stare at him, not quite understanding him.

'What are you talking about; how could you possibly know if someone is going to Hell or not!' Her voice was quivering slightly, and she had to fight herself, not to start shouting. The Count just stared at her.

After what felt like several minutes, Dracula headed into the house. Strangely, he wasn't stopped by the rules that were said to bind the Count.

'Hang on,' said Anna confused, just as the Count passed the threshold into the house. He turned to stare at her, plainly befuddled.

'What's the matter, Anna,' he asked, concerned. The strange thing was, he meant it; he really was concerned...

'H-how did y-you... you c-can't, p-possibly...' Anna seemed to have developed a sudden stutter. Dracula stared at her, but it didn't take him long before he understood her puzzlement.

'Stories, rumours, you can never rely on them,' smiling, he almost laughed, 'they are absolutely not an excellent source of information, you should've know better then that, Anna.'

All of a sudden Anna felt furious with herself. How stupid had she been? But of course getting information on Dracula was the hardest thing possible, since everything about him was a closely guarded secret, although at that moment Anna came up with an idea.

Since the only way to get truthful information was from the source itself, but there laid a problem she couldn't just ignore. Anna was the type of person who always kept her promises. But how could she love and care for Dracula, and yet destroy him?

Putting away these thoughts for later pondering, she hurried to catch up with the Count, who was already in the house.

Had there been a moon, the old house wouldn't have been so dark. The place was so dark that a human would see nothing but black, but to a vampire the darkness was their home, their world, and could see everything at night, even better then a human did by day. Anna could see everything as clearly as if she was looking through a newly cleaned window.

Now she started to believe...

The house was old, and the dark coloured walls were peeling back the paint. All the windows were covered with dirt, at least fifty years worth, maybe more. From the dusty chairs to the dirt filled, empty vases, with dead wilted flowers, that looked like someone had thought it amusing to set them alight at some stage, everything was an antique; it was like a museum. It was more suited to Anna's period, which was why it confused her. She had been only five when this house had been built, just how long had it been?

'Please don't kill me,' came a whimpering voice, somewhere from ahead. It sounded like it came from the living room, the only place in the house that had light and warmth. She could see a flashing orange on the living room wall, from where she was standing, in the hallway, just inside the front door.

Not sure what to expect, she slowly approached the room. Reaching the doorway, she found that the living room was the same as the rest of the house, but with one major difference. There were old dusty bottles of alcohol all over the floor, and the place looked like it had been trashed recently, though it looked like it was always trashed, but it was worse then it probably would've been normally.

There were some old settees in the room, a coffee table sitting at its centre. There were several candelabras around the room, along with different sized dust-covered paintings hanging on the walls. The room also had a fireplace at the right wall, which was burning brightly. Anna's eyes didn't like the light that emanated from it; she looked away, only to see something else that she didn't like.

Dracula had pinned a man, who was a little shorter then him, against the left wall. The man had long – like Van Helsing's length – messy, with bits of dirt, brown hair. His brown eyes were full of fear, and he wore a scruffy old coat over his shabby clothes. Even his hat, which now lay on the floor, was like the rest of his clothes, but the hat was moth-eaten instead. Quite frankly he looked like a homeless person.

'Please don't kill me,' came that same whimpering voice. It was coming from the man. He must have known that which was standing before him, to show so much fear.

She hoped this man was not the one she was to kill, for she was sure she could not bring herself to do so. Not on a poor soul like him, though to put him out of his misery, she _might_ be able to.

'You know the wrong things you have done; you know you're going straight to Hell, so why deny it?' How did Dracula know this, was he still into reading peoples minds?

Dracula must have sensed her presence, however, because he sighed, and said, 'this man killed his wife, children, even his best friend, along with several complete strangers, Anna,' he turned his head to look at her, 'he's going to Hell, whether he likes it, or not.'

Now it made sense. Why didn't he just say that before? Anna no longer felt so sorry for the man, but those he had murdered. Dracula beckoned her forward; she slowly approached them, getting more uncertain as she went.

'He's a liar, missy, don't trust him.' He sounded like he was pleading, but somehow Anna knew this man was lying, Dracula had spoken the truth...

Before she realised what she was doing, she'd sunk her fangs into the man's throat, fangs she didn't even know how to bring forth, had come through on there own accord. Anna found that this wasn't as bad as she though it might've been.

When Anna was a child, she'd gotten into a fight – losing a tooth, or two, in the process - and she'd had a taste of blood, but that wasn't like she was drinking it, like she was now.

She found it hard to describe, but since this man was drunk – she'd seen a half empty bottle of Absinthe, sitting on the old fashioned coffee table – all she knew was that, strangely, it tasted better then chocolate, and it was giving her a nice buzz.

When at last she had drunk as much as she needed, or could stand, she stepped away from the now dead man, his body sliding down to the floor, leaving a bloody trail across the wall, like paint. Her vision seemed to become blurry, and she felt on the tipsy side. How much had this man drunk?

She shook her head to try and clear it, but that had never worked for her.

She felt like she was really drunk, and stared to pass out. She didn't even feel Dracula catch her, now limb body, from hitting the ground.

* * *

A/N: Talk about a long chapter, well I just couldn't stop my hands from writing this. In fact my head just wants to stay here so much that my other stories are falling behind! But that's ok, I'm getting them gelled a little before I get back into them – I'm thinking things over in other words – I don't want to have another mistake like last time!

Thanks for the reviews, Dracula and Anna hugs for all!

xxx VEW xxx


	12. Hidden Feelings And A Witch's Curse

My heads further along then the story, it's hard to keep up with it, but I'm doing ok. I've recently done some brainstorming, so I've not written anything for about a week, but now I'm back with another chapter, and a few more plot ideas.

This chapter was very hard to name, but I astonished _even_ myself when I managed to find one.

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Twelve

Hidden Feelings And A Witch's Curse

Having carried Anna back to his castle in his hell beast form, Dracula carries her through the castle, but as he does so, Anna becomes conscious again. Dracula stops to look at her face.

A soft 'mm,' sound comes from her, as she slowly opens her eyes. She looks at Dracula. He knows that she hasn't had enough time to sleep it off, and continues to walk to her bedroom, to lay her down to sleep.

But Anna surprises him.

In her intoxicated state, she starts giving him butterfly kisses along his neck, causing him to stop. Since Anna had been knocked unconscious for a month, and then she'd woken with amnesia, he knew what he wanted, but he knew he couldn't have it. He loved Anna _too much_ to take advantage of her.

Fighting his instincts, he carries her to her bedroom door; carefully he pushes it open with his foot. He lays Anna down on the bed, and then covers her over. After making sure she was comfortable, he moves to leave, but Anna surprises him again.

Just after he gives Anna his usual "goodnight" kiss on the forehead, her hand touches his cheek, and her lips touch his in a kiss. Her soft lips touch his for some time, but Dracula gently breaks the kiss, and moves away.

'Anna, sleep it off,' is all he says before he leaves the room, heading for his little office, or study, planning to take a nap on the couch, only to discover it occupied.

Rose was sleeping, completely unaware that the Count was back from his hunt with Anna, while Lily was sound asleep in his chair. There was no other seating furniture in the room. Sighing, he shook his head.

Rose yawned; stretching her arms, she opens an eye to see Dracula, who is staring right back at her. In shock, though she doesn't scream, she falls off the lounge and hits the floor.

'It's alright Rose, you're not in trouble.' Rose can see he needs his rest, and begins to wonder what Anna did to him. Since Rose was the only bride old enough to know that Anna had hated the Count, while secretly deep down she had always loved him. She knows what Anna used to be like around the Count.

Sighing once again, Dracula extends his hand to help her up. She takes it, and he gives her a soft kiss on her cheek, before he lays himself down on the couch, gesturing for her to join him.

Rose places herself beside him, gently snuggling up against him, his arm around her, his hand resting on her waist. She almost immediately falls asleep, but the Count has things on his mind...

He'd never expected Anna to end up like his other brides, (being intimate with him) not even in the long run. After one week, she'd planted a kiss on his lips. Although Anna had done it to try and get him to leave Van Helsing alone, but he had turned down the deal, he'd wanted her the old fashioned way – _no deals_ - in fact he had been expecting it to happen again, when he'd watched her yelling at Igor to leave Van Helsing alone, a few nights back, but she hadn't.

But that didn't mean she wasn't going to.

For years she had defied him, but one night, when he'd been half asleep in his chair by the fire, before he'd realised what was happening, she'd slinked over and was kissing him. Although he'd surprised her by pulling her over the arm of the chair onto him, so that she was no longer on her feet, but gently pressed against him, lying on top of him, in the chair. The kiss had stopped, but their faces had remained close together.

'What is it you want now?' he'd asked. He'd been thinking that she was trying yet another deal. She had looked hurt.

'Just you,' she'd whispered. There was no way he could have mistaken the truth in her tone. She had been honest; she'd just wanted _him..._

At last he fell asleep, once again dreaming of Anna Valerious.

* * *

A young boy, with short brown hair, was playing around in a large tree. He was howling like a wolf, scaring little animals in the trees, and on the ground, causing them to run off. After a while, he stopped and stared at the horizon, the sun was rising.

Now that the night had past, and that it was morning, though very early, he then begun pretending he was a monkey, and started swinging from tree branch to tree branch.

Then something strange and unnatural happened.

As he landed on the ground, he felt strange inside. He saw a gleam of something in the ground, half covered in dirt, which was strange for spring, but nothing ever grew there in that dirt, since it was the road, so it wasn't so odd, but that didn't stop the disquiet he felt.

Slowly he approached the gleaming item that was reflecting the sunlight. Carefully he dragged it out of the dirt. It was long and the colour of silver. At first glance he knew what it was.

It was his father's sword.

At that moment, he heard the sound of hooves coming from his right. Seeing the coach with its dark brown horses, the boy jumped backwards out of the way. The coach stopped in front of him, the driver jumped down to open the door.

Sitting in the coach was an elderly lady, wearing very old-fashioned clothes. Her face covered by a dark moth-eaten veil that was connected to the black hat - that looked like a bonnet but without the tie under the chin - she wore.

'Give that here you thief, that does not belong to you,' her voice reminded him of a crackling fire.

'No I wont,' he shouted, 'this is rightfully mine!'

The old lady did not look pleased, 'then I curse you, to remain the age you are, until either, you return the sword to it's rightful owner, or your cousin reaches your age in appearance!'

The man shut the door, and climbed back into the seat of the coach driver, and gave a flick of the reins, causing the horses to push ahead. The coach was gone in amazing speed.

The old lady was joking, that was impossible; no one could curse someone like that!

_Could they?_

He opened his eyes, to see himself somewhere else. He was laying in his bed, now sweating from the memory he had just dreamt, his mother at his bedside.

'Do I have a cousin?' he asked. It wasn't the first time he'd had the memory-dream, and it wasn't the first time he'd asked either. His mother answered the same as always.

'No Velkir, you don't have a cousin.'

He thought about the old witch that had cursed him so long ago. His mother had told him the story of his father, but the boy hadn't told her about the old witch, or the sword. Only that he had been cursed, though not how to cure him.

Wasn't he the rightful owner of the sword with his father gone? Did his father steal it? Or was he still alive?

'I'm ok, mother, what time is it?'

'It's morning, Velkir, time to get up.'

* * *

A/N: My heads currently full of at least one more Van Helsing fanfic. Once I sort it out, I'll start posting it. I wrote some chapters on it last year, and I finally found it. I also have another new one, which is different again.


	13. Remembering

Thanks, that means a lot.

Sorry for the wait, I'll not keep you – like Dracula does. Hope you like it.

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Thirteen

Remembering

Tossing and turning in her sleep, Anna was having another nightmare. Instead of talking to anyone about them, she had simply pushed it aside, and went back to sleep, but the dreams were getting worse.

They were escalating.

Sitting up in her bed, covered in sweat, she decided to find Van Helsing. Leaving her bedroom, she wandered through the castle until she found the door she was looking for. Van Helsing had told her that this was where he slept.

Knocking on the door, she hoped she wasn't disturbing him. The door opened to reveal Van Helsing, wearing his usual torn shorts that had once been pants, a dark shirt to cover his chest, and of course, he's hat that always came back.

It had been little over a week since she had awoken with amnesia, and she had decided to talk to Van Helsing about her nightmares.

'Can I talk to you?' Anna asked, unsure whether he was annoyed by the intrusion.

'Sure, what's the matter?' he seemed quite calm and undisturbed.

'I've been having these nightmares every night since I woke up in Dracula's bed with amnesia.' Van Helsing suddenly looked troubled.

'You shouldn't talk to me about them, I just make them worse, no matter how hard I try to help. I think it has something to do with the fact that I have nightmares too...' his voice trailed off, but Anna wasn't going to budge that quickly.

'If not you, then _who?_' Anna felt a tingle of fear finding its way up her spine, as she begun to realise what his answer was going to be, but she didn't expect the words he used, or his tone.

'Your husband that you love so deeply.' He sounded bitter, and unhappy. His words and his tone brought forth an old memory that she had forgotten...

_She was out the front of the castle, having an argument with Van Helsing. Not having other memories of such incidents, or much memory before that, she didn't know how long ago it was, but it was obviously some kind of turning point in her life._

'_You love him, don't you?' his words were harsh, but he was serious._

'_You're absurd, I _hate_ him!' she yelled back, furious._

'_Oh, really?' he raised an eyebrow, as if he wasn't convinced._

'_Yes, really!' she shot back, determined and annoyed._

'_Then why were you kissing Dracula so _passionately?_' Anna was mortified._

'You saw that?'

'_Yes I saw _that!_' he yelled at her, you could see his pain, 'every fricking vampire saw _that!_'_

_In the memory, Anna's vision blurred, as if she was crying, or close to. As Anna stormed off in anger, she returned to the present..._

'Anna, are you alright?' Van Helsing had been asking her this for some time, something about the way she was standing was not normal, and there was an odd look in her eyes.

'Yes, yes,' she said, snapping out of it, 'I'm fine.' She begun to walk away, but her curiosity got the better of her.

'Van Helsing,' she said, turning back to him, 'the argument we had, when was it?' Surely he wouldn't know what she was talking about. It could've been any argument.

'We've only ever had the one argument. That was when you left me. For him.'

'When was it?' she asked again.

'We'd just returned back. Dracula and Rose had gone inside, leaving us alone.'

Anna frowned, confused, 'what about Lily?'

'This was long before Lily,' he turned and looked her straight in the eyes, 'you had been Dracula's bride for ten years, Rose, only three.'

'Where had we returned from?'

'All Hallows Eve.' He turned away. Anna was sure he didn't want to talk anymore, and Anna decided to figure out the rest without him.

'Well, see you around, I'd better get back to bed,' she said nervously, before heading back to the living room. Walking inside, instead of going back to bed, she headed for the seat by the fire, thinking there was no one in it, since the night hadn't quite arrived.

Coming up the left side of the chair, she stopped when she saw none other then the Count, his eyes closed, he looked like he was asleep, but Anna knew better. Sighing, she crouched down, placing her hand on his. Dracula's head moved as if he'd just been woken up, his eyes opened, and he turned to look at Anna.

'Anna, what are you...' Anna placed her head gently against his arm.

'Can I ask you something?' Although he was surprised, and tired, he gave a slight nod in approval.

'At the All Hallows Eve ball, who kissed who first?' He didn't answer; he just stared at her. Sighing Anna continued, 'the All Hallows Eve ball, ten years after you made me your bride. We kissed, now, what exactly happened?' Although he stared at Anna for a while, this time he answered.

'We were dancing, you always loved to dance, especially with me,' his eyes seemed glazed, as if he was back in that time, reliving the moments, 'when you started to act a little strangely.'

'_Strangely?'_

'Yes, almost as if you'd fallen under my spell, but you weren't. You had a look of love in your eyes, I didn't think it was for me, but after a while, you whispered in my ear.' Having been back in that moment, he had been staring at the fire. He turned to look at Anna, who was very silent. She was just staring at him, hanging on his every word.

He closed his eyes, 'kiss me, you said,' he opened his eyes, Anna still staring at him. 'I was surprised, and didn't really know what to say. It was the special dance where I alone, with one of my brides, dance, though I always picked you, while everyone else watches. It was a rare occasion, at the start of the ball, just one dance, one song, then everyone else would join in, but we shocked them all.'

He moved, making himself more comfortable, again he found himself looking into the fire, and turned back to Anna. Her expression was something familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place it.

'We moved closer to each other, I don't really know who kissed who, we sort of kissed each other, but it was like no kiss I'd ever had. So passionate, so much love.' By this time, Dracula looked like he might cry, but he didn't. There was just so much emotion in his eyes.

'How do you know about this, I thought you had amnesia?' His sudden question caused her to jump in shock, but she calmed quickly.

'I do, but a little while ago, I had a flashback, or whatever you want to call it, and found myself having an argument with Van Helsing, just outside the castle. He had shouted things at me, and that kiss you just mentioned, he said I'd been passionate about it.'

Their eyes met, Anna almost crying, Dracula with a warm look in his eyes.

'You were,' he came closer, his nose gently touched hers, 'we both were.'

* * *

A/N: Since Anna doesn't remember or acknowledges her feelings for Dracula, she's going to begin to do things that the Anna that Dracula remembers wouldn't do, especially towards him. Not sure how long part 1 will be, perhaps a few more chapters before I begin thinking about that.

I don't know about you, but it's back to writing for me, so thanks for the reviews.

Dracula and Anna hug for all.


	14. Anna Contemplates

It did hurt, but the way I see it, if someone reviews with bad language, or doesn't actually review, (I wouldn't consider that monstrosity a review) then it's not worth the time, nor worth reading. So thanks for your support.

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Fourteen

Anna Contemplates

Anna didn't know what was wrong with her. _Why_ had she allowed him to get _so close?_ His nose had touched hers ...and such a gentle touch it was.

Why had she done it? _Why?_

Anna had returned to sleep, but _not_ in her bed. She wasn't even _in_ a bed. She was out there in the living room, where both Lily and Rose, maybe even Van Helsing, could find her. Curled up no less, in the arms of Dracula!

Something was _seriously_ wrong with her!

And_ yet_, she didn't have any nightmares. No sickening feelings in his gentle, but firm hold. No wanting to move her head away from his chest. No wanting to run as fast as she could in the opposite direction.

_No._

She wanted to be closer. Closer then she was now. Closer then she thought she'd ever been. She was strongly reminded of the feeling she'd had in the bathroom, a week ago. She'd wanted to go to him, but couldn't.

She didn't dare move, just in case he was asleep. Since she now had some time to her own thoughts, Anna decided it was time to figure out this mess.

Anna recalled her first ever memory of Dracula.

It had been her sixteenth birthday; she was out a little later then usual that night. The stars had been twinkling brightly, though not as bright as the moon. No one else was about. It was almost completely silent, save for the wolves howling in the distance, the crickets singing, and the bats in the trees.

And that's when he came. That's when they met.

He had been so sweet, wishing her a happy birthday. She had never asked herself of how he'd known. She just figured it was because she was the princess, everyone knew. He'd even kissed her hand ...but that's when it all went wrong.

That's when Velkin came.

He tried to get her away from the sweet, kind stranger, repeatedly telling her that he was Dracula. That he was there to kill her. Her family. Her people. The world.

Of course she believed her brother. He after all had encountered Dracula before. He knew what he looked like. She didn't. Besides, she was only sixteen, not yet a full-grown woman.

In those days, her father had insisted on her carrying a hidden stake. She had withdrawn it then. Velkin had run to tell their father, to get help.

That's when she'd staked him in the heart. The heart that she believed he didn't have. At that time he hadn't had one. Did he have one now?

She had stood there with the stake in his heart, thinking that he had known who _she_ was, even if she hadn't known who _he_ was.

He had been a gentleman back then, and now he was _still_ a gentleman. Anna knew that he hadn't taken advantage of her after she'd drunk that man's blood. Although she didn't remember what had happened, she knew, she just knew.

Anna sighed into Dracula's shirt. He had stayed by her side, the whole month, never leaving her side. If that was true, had he carried her back? Did it mean he had a heart? Did he love her, Lily, and Rose?

Anna opened her eyes, and that's when she asked herself the most important question. What had happened? How had she got amnesia?

Dracula moved underneath her, as if he was trying to get more comfortable. Was he being uncomfortable for her? Or was it just her imagination? Maybe he was just waking up. Anna lifted her head to find out.

Only to look into those beautiful blue eyes.

* * *

A/N: Sorry it's a bit on the short side, but it just seemed to end perfectly there.

Until next time, have a lovely day, or night, depending on where you live.

Dracula: Well, I live in Transylvania.

Me: Yes, well, as much I like you to hang around with no shirt on, you can head on back there.

Dracula: But I'm wearing my shirt.

Me: ...

Dracula laughs hysterically before he disappears.

Me: He'll be back...I think. I must have been dreaming, or was he just playing with my head, again?


	15. Slip Ups

A/N: I'm sorry to say, but if I am not mistaken, I had come down with the flu around the time I was going to pin this up, and I think I'm over it now, but don't worry if I'm not, I won't let it stop me!

On a lighter note, the Chappie-bus has finally arrived, and it's brought the next instalment!

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Fifteen

Slip ups

Looking into those eyes, Anna begun to realise that there was more to Dracula then she had ever known. There was emotion, true, heart felt emotion, and to feel emotion like that, one had to have a heart. Only now did she begin to believe what he had told her years ago, but the question was, did he tell her the truth, or did he lie to her?

'I love you, Anna,' he had said so often through her life, 'I want you forever,' and every time he'd sounded like he meant it, but had he really? There was only one way to find out.

'Count,' Anna whispered, their eyes still looking into each other's.

'Mm,' it was obvious that he was listening, but he didn't sound very talkative.

'How do you feel about me?' her voice was quivering a little, as if she was afraid of rejection, or maybe she was afraid of what she knew he would say. He remained quiet for some time, perhaps trying to figure out why Anna would ask such a question.

'I've told you how I feel about you as often as I can.'

'I just need to hear it.' Too late, the words had just slipped out of her mouth; she couldn't have stopped them if she'd tried.

Dracula smiled, very fondly.

'I have loved you from the moment I first laid eyes on you, ' his hand gently brushing her hair out of her face, 'I always have, always will, and I hope that you never forget it again.' He leaned forward, and for one wild moment, Anna thought that he was going to kiss her lips, but he kissed her cheek instead. He didn't want to scare her, since she was still unsure about everything.

She was still confused, and until she, herself, remembered how she had become a vampire, then she would not think about the secret way she felt about him, or at least she'd try to. Dracula gently leaned his head against hers, in an affectionate way.

'The night has come,' he whispered to her, 'and I know you'll want to go and discover the truth, so go now, before anyone sees you here.' Anna was surprised, he knew her better then she knew herself. It was true, she wouldn't want anyone to know about this; so she slowly and gently slides off him, her eyes not leaving his, as she does so.

'Don't wander off _too_ far, and make sure you are back here, before the sun rises.' Anna, completely speechless, nodded.

* * *

'So will you tell me, how I became Dracula's bride?' She had been wandering the castle for about half the night, until she'd ran into Van Helsing, who was busying himself with something, or other.

'I've already told you,' he huffed, slightly out of breath. He'd obviously had a bad day's sleep, or just a bad night. Either way, it had put him into an awful mood.

'No, you didn't. You just told me that I was his bride. You never mentioned how it came about!'

Van Helsing looked up from where he was sitting, and stopped whatever it was he had been doing. For several moments he remained silent, until finally he spoke, but very softly.

'I didn't actually _see_ him bite you...' he began, but Anna cut him off.

'If you didn't see him, then how could you _possibly_ know that he...' By this time Van Helsing was shouting over her, and she went silent.

'... Because, Anna, when next I saw you, I could sense the change in you.' She knew what he was talking about, but that still didn't give her the answers she was looking for.

'Did anyone witness the change?'

'Yes.' He had spoken so softly that she almost didn't hear him.

'Who?' Van Helsing turned to her, his eyes meeting with hers.

'You know who.'

* * *

A/N: Well, what an interesting chapter, I wonder what'll happen next.

Till next time, hope you enjoyed.


	16. The Trip To Budapest

Dracula: Ladies and gentleman, I give to you... VAN HELSING!

Me (Imitates Dracula): Ladies and gentleman, I give to you... CHAPTER SIXTEEN!

Dracula (roars): _What!_

Me (running scared): Right, well, to chapter sixteen!

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Sixteen

The Trip To Budapest

Anna knew of whom Van Helsing meant, but that didn't mean that she was going to go and see him, in fact she had been avoiding him; that was until, several short weeks later, she came out of her room one night, and found him waiting.

'Are you ready, Anna?'

'Ready for what, Count?' Dracula grimaced at his old title, especially when it came from _his_ Anna. He wasn't used to her calling him that anymore, so when she did, he found he disliked it immensely.

'Please, don't call me that,' Anna went to say something, but Dracula cut in before she could, 'and that also.' Obviously calling him "Count", or "Dracula" were out of the question. _What was she supposed to call him?_

Dracula didn't elaborate.

'The Annual "All Hallows Eve" ball is coming, and since you can't fly, and we're in no rush, we are leaving tonight, by my coach, to Budapest. We shall arrive in one week.' Dracula turned to leave, but Anna stopped him, by speaking.

'And when will you teach me how to fly?'

'Soon enough, my darling, _soon enough_,' and with that he left the living room, leaving a confused Anna to get ready for the trip.

* * *

Before Anna had boarded the coach, which Lily and Rose already occupied, Dracula had explained that after the ball, they would return in the same coach, which would bring them back the same distance in the same time. One week.

Just before Anna got into the coach however, she noticed who was sitting in the driver's seat.

'What are you doing here?' she asked before she could catch herself. He almost appeared as if he was blushing.

'I kind of killed the last coachman,' Van Helsing looked away, 'It's kind of like my punishment.' He fell silent. The coach rode the entire night, and every now and then, they weren't able to see the sky, due to the mountains tunnels.

Lily and Rose were gossiping beside her, and Anna was stuck beside Dracula, his left arm across the top of the seat, his hand gently resting on her shoulder. He had one leg crossed over the other, and was looking out the window. Anna sat as far away from him as she could, she needed to think, which was hard, since there was no time.

'It's time to sleep, my dears.' said Dracula as the coach came to a gentle halt. What Anna thought was another seat, (across from where she was sitting) was actually a large black coffin, which was mounted to the floor so that it didn't slip and slide. Although it was big enough to accommodate all of them, Anna would've rather slept alone, like she had been doing.

Anna had not realised how long they had travelled, until she saw how light the sky was. The sun was soon to rise.

Like the gentleman that he was, Dracula helped each of his brides get in, starting with Lily. As Dracula helped Rose get in, Anna wondered if he would be getting in last, or if he was getting in, then helping her in. It was the latter.

As soon as Anna was fully in, and comfortable, Dracula reached up and pulled down the lid. A moment later, they heard a whip crack, and the coach gently jerked forwards. Anna found she couldn't sleep; Dracula however was a different story. From what she could tell he fell asleep instantly, but something about the _way _he slept told her that he was alert.

Eventually Anna drifted off, but to her horror, she dreamt the dreams again...

_Trying to escape with the Frankenstein monster..._

_Van Helsing shooting Velkin..._

_Velkin dying in her arms..._

_Anna's promise to destroy Dracula..._

Anna was suddenly knocked abruptly from her dreams, everything that happened next happened so fast that she almost thought it didn't happen.

With a bang, Dracula's hand hit somewhere behind her, to stabilise himself, and so that Anna wouldn't get crushed; Rose slammed into his back, Anna heard her gasp in shock, just before Lily came to slam into her. Dracula grimaced both times, his eyes not leaving hers since she'd woken up.

Anna heard Van Helsing's voice, shout somewhere outside, 'sorry, loose rocks on the road.' Anna realised what must have happened, the wheels must have ran over the rocks, causing the coach to jump.

'Are you alright, Anna?' She nodded, fidgeting under such an intense gaze.

'Lily? Rose?' Anna heard their soft replies, Dracula waited until they were off his back, so that he could move.

'Now I know why you looked so alert in your sleep.' Dracula turned to face her.

'I'm always alert, awake or not.' He gave her a small smile before closing his eyes. From what she could tell, he was right. Closing her eyes, Anna managed to fall asleep without any problems; however, her sleep was worse than last time.

Her escalating nightmare had come back to haunt her...

_The sky was dark with the night; the only light was from the moon. She appeared to be running through a forest. Her breath was becoming laboured, she couldn't run forever..._

_She heard it howl, she heard it growl, she heard it roar..._

_She skidded to a stop as the beast leaped out of seemingly nowhere, coming for her..._

_Velkin..._

In her shock realisation she woke up, sitting bolt upright, only to hit her head.

'Ouch!' She felt two strong arms snake their way around her, and hold her close.

'Are you alright?' came Dracula's voice, soft and gentle, beside her ear.

'I-I t-think so.' She managed to say, still in shock that the beast, the werewolf, in her nightmares was her only brother, _her own dear brother..._

'Go to back to sleep Anna, I'll make sure nothing more happens to you,' Anna, thinking that he might be able to keep her nightmares away, like last time, cuddles up to him, her face buried into his chest.

* * *

A/N: Ah, yes, about this being wrong on many levels. It is true that Dracula and Anna are blood related, but it's not classed as incest, which is of _close_ relation, like a brother/sister, uncle/aunt, etc. Between Anna and Dracula is about four hundred years worth of generations...

You are also on the right track with Velkir, and the truth will be relieved through the story. I'm surprised however that no one mentioned about the words within the curse? Anyway I'm feeling much better now, I think I'm over this flu, and hopefully, I'll get out of this wretched depression... trust me, if you don't have it, you don't want it (although the experience might do you good, like it created the Dementors for JKRowling).

Thanks for reading, I still don't get why this is my most popular fan story, but I'm glad people like it, makes me feel better. I must say this one was hard because I had two different ways to go, but I think I'll save that for a later chapter. Yes, I was thinking of having the story told from more than one PoV's (I've already had a least one from Dracula's PoV) and I think I might have a few from the brides, and Van Helsing... maybe even Igor.

Just one thing though, this was not the only story that has fallen behind due to flu, etc. I've not written much since the last chapter, but now I _hope _and think that I should be able to get back on track. XP. Thanks again, hope you're enjoying the story. **;)**


	17. Budapest

A/N: Sorry about the wait folks, but when I'd finally gotten out of my writer's block, my mind got firmly stuck into the Doctor Who world, which I will be writing a fan fiction on, but now I'm starting to get my head back into Van Helsing.

Just in case you were confused, Anna was facing Dracula when she went to sleep, except when she hit her head, and Dracula put his arms around her, to which she was facing slightly away from him. Also Drakie's hand hit the side of the coffin, behind Anna.

Dracula: Enough talking and on with the story.

Ok, I was just getting there; well, as the handsome Count himself said, on with the story.

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Seventeen

Budapest

The week passed so quickly, it had felt like mere days. Dracula was sitting by the window, as he had done every night that week. Anna however had managed to sit on the other side, far away from him, with Rose beside her and Lily between Rose and Dracula. She had many questions to ask herself.

_How did she feel about Dracula?_

_Did Dracula truly have a heart?_

_Was her brother haunting her from beyond the grave?_

Unfortunately, she didn't have the time to try and answer them. Since her mind had been so far away, it took her a few moments to realize that the coach had stopped. Looking out the window near Dracula, Anna saw the Summer Palace, the same one where Carl had set Dracula on fire, and where Van Helsing had saved her like Tarzan, swinging from the trapeze to the tightrope, (which he'd cut) but hadn't it all been in vain?

Hadn't she become Dracula's Bride? Had her family not been condemned to purgatory? Was not her brother, Velkin, dead? Did not Van Helsing hate her... or was he just bitter?

Dracula helped her down out of the coach. Van Helsing cracked the whip, and drove away.

'Where is he going?' Anna asked Dracula curiously.

'To put the horses and coach away,' was all he said, as he led them inside.

The palace didn't look any different to what she remembered. Thinking that they were going into the ballroom, Anna had walked straight ahead, but Dracula reached out and pulled her back, leading her to the right.

'This way, my dear,' he said, not at all surprised, or phased about where she had been going, in fact he had almost expected it, however it was not "All Hallows Eve" just yet, and the ballroom wasn't fully prepared for the ball.

'Where are we going?' Anna asked, feeling a little foolish, and confused. Lily and Rose where a distance ahead, but still within sight.

'The Ball is not until tomorrow night, Anna,' he said casually as if he was used to being asked such a question, 'tonight we shall prepare for the ball, then go to bed.'

'Why do we have to prepare now?'

'Simple.' He smiled, 'that way we don't have to hustle and bustle tomorrow, we can simply get ready.'

Having been so caught up in the conversation, Anna found that she had no idea where she was, or how to get there, however, looking at the Count's face she could tell that he knew this, and would make sure that she didn't get lost, in these "new" surrounding.

Lily and Rose were waiting ahead, standing near some dark double doors, which were obviously Dracula's chambers at Budapest. Anna wanted to explore the place, so that she didn't need anyone to stay with her constantly, least of all Dracula.

Dracula opened the doors, for his brides. Lily and Rose rushed off to get their things ready for the ball, before going to bed. Anna however had not hurried off like her sisters, Dracula had noticed the way Anna had been acting lately, and it worried him.

'Anna, are you alright?' he asked softly, his voice barely above a whisper. She turned to face him, her brow furrowed.

'No, I'm fine,' pause, 'just thinking that's all.' Still not convinced, Dracula let it slid, for now.

* * *

A/N: Ok, hopefully the next one won't take as long. My minds all over the place, I need to focus… Hey! Drac, get you're sexy butt in here!

Dracula (moans): Oh, what now…

Me: I need some help, or more importantly _you're_ help. By the way, where have you been, you know I can't write this without you!

Dracula: I've been right where you left me… on HAITUS!

Me: Oops! I never wanted to do THAT!

Well 'till next time, hope you enjoyed. Also, you had better appreciate this update; I've got myself a bloody cold! My poor, poor keyboard…

Dracula: Well don't sneeze on me, I don't want it!

Me (glares): You can't get sick you bloody great git, you're a vampire, and vampires can't get sick!

Dracula: Oh yea… (Smiles evilly, obviously mocking me) Lucky me! (Laughs evilly before he departs)

Dam him! (He then shows up again, gives me a tissue and then leaves again).


	18. All Hallows Eve Masquerade Ball

A/N: So here I am sitting at my computer 2 days straight, and my mum, (without knocking of course) comes into my room, and tells me to get a life! Can you believe it? The nerve!

Now I know I just posted the other chapter recently, but hey, you're not going to complain? So I'm not going to either. Now this chapter's a lot longer, (I guess it's my way of saying, "sorry that last chapter was so short".)

Dam I hate the sun, if only it didn't give me sunburn, I _might_ actually like it. Yea I got sunburnt last Saturday (and almost got driven to insanity with all the Christmas carols...)

Disclaimer: Do I _really_ need to add a disclaimer? I mean _really_? Now, Dracula wouldn't have died _if I'd owned it_, surely _that_ alone can tell you that I don't own Van Helsing!

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Eighteen

All Hallows Eve Masquerade Ball

The Count guided Anna through the double doors. She did not object. Once inside, he let her wonder about on her own, but he did not leave.

Inside was a room with décor much the same as it was back at Dracula's Castle. A lot of the objects in the room seemed to resemble antiques, maybe he just liked the 14th century too much to let it go entirely, but Anna could see why, there were some very beautiful objects.

Lily and Rose where already in the next room and from the noise she could hear emanating from it, that they were getting ready for tomorrow night. Anna was standing in the centre of the room, just looking around, when the Count came to stand next to her.

'I would hate to intrude upon you're peaceful thoughts, my dear, but there is a little matter I must speak with you about.' Surprised, she turned to look at him. Wearing his usual black, his hair up in his ponytail, which she found she'd always liked, but never as much as that handsome face of his. Anna found his expression hard to fathom, _what lay in those exquisite eyes of his?_

Anna went to speak, but paused, she remembered what he'd told her about calling him, "Count", and "Dracula", but the problem still stood. Thinking it best not to make him angry the night before the ball - he'd seemed angry, or annoyed, last time - instead, she took the safest choice, and said nothing, she just nodded.

The Count led her across the room, to one of the sofas, which had an unrestricted view of the door that Lily and Rose were in. Perhaps he did not want them to intrude, at least it seemed that way to Anna that this was a private conversation just between the two of them. Sitting beside the Count, Anna waited patiently for him to begin. She had learned that it was better that way. He would speak when he was ready, not because someone told him to.

'As you know, the ball is tomorrow night,' he turned to look at her, his eyes held a feeling that could've been concern, 'our people do not know that you have amnesia,' he paused, that same look still in his eyes, 'knowing you as well as I do, I know that you would not be able to pull off a stunt, like _pretending_,' - pause – 'considering how close we were before all this, as compared to now,' he sighed, as if in defeat.

'So what are you saying?'

'That, for the first time in my life, I don't know what to do.' He admitted honestly, like he might have done if Anna had been Verona, except that he was more honest with Anna then he _had_ ever, or _would_ ever be with anyone else.

'Wouldn't it be better if you told them?' _Why doesn't he just tell them, surely it won't be that bad?_

'I'm worried about how they might take it.' He turned his head away from her, and stared at the floor before him.

'_The Count looks worried._' Anna thought, _'There has to be something that I can do to calm him down.'_ Anna thought quickly, and when an idea came to mind, she didn't think about it, she didn't even consider the possible consequences of her actions, _or_ what she'd think about it later.

Before her stubborn consciousness could stop her, her right hand pulled Dracula's head towards her, and pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss. There didn't seem to be much of a reaction from him, however, she did not try to enter, somehow she knew he wouldn't have let her in anyway, and it was at that moment she realized that he knew something that he wasn't telling her.

Gently she parted her lips from his, her eyes slowly opened, and looking back at her was Dracula. He seemed calmer, but something still troubled him, and there was a look of curiosity in his eyes, perhaps Anna's idea hadn't been as good as she thought it might've been.

She let her hand fall lightly from his face, only to have Dracula catch it, just after it had left his skin. He pulled Anna close, but only to be nestled by her, which was not what Anna had expected, but she preferred it to what she thought he was going to do.

For some strange reason, he reminded Anna of a child that needed comforting, it was that very feeling that caused her hand to move seemingly on its own accord, and started to caress his head, his hair moving gently with her touch. Dracula gave a sigh, Anna couldn't help but smile. At least he wasn't so stressed.

* * *

Anna felt like her stomach was going to knot so much it would twist away into nothing. Wearing her ballroom dress, she stood beside Dracula, who was – as far as she could tell – relaxed, almost as if he didn't have a care in the world, little did she know that was not the case at all.

Dracula was wearing the same black and gold outfit; she'd seen him wearing when he'd been dancing with her, when Van Helsing had saved her. Unlike Dracula however she was wearing a different dress, and although that dress had been quite beautiful, she found that the dress she wore now was more to her style.

The dress was similar to the other one, in so far as the contours, however, the dress was all black, with a tied bodice, with bits of glittering gold, especially around her chest area. Her gloves were also black; they just passed her elbows, where the edge had golden embroidery-like trims.

Her hair was also up, just like that time, and like last time she had a tiara, except this one was different, it was golden, but was more extravagant. The previous night, after Anna had left the Count to get ready, Rose had told her that it was a very important and special object among vampires, so she was to be very careful with it, however Rose hadn't elaborated, as to why it was so precious.

Standing to her left was Rose. She was stunningly decorated in a red ball gown, however hers was less complex then Anna's, but that didn't mean it was any less beautiful. Rose had plaited her hair the previous night, with several tiny plaits, and slept with them in. So that the next night her hair would be wavy, and she'd only have to leave the front two in, however she had re-done the front to, so that they were neater. Then she tied them together at the back of her head with a red ribbon. Like Anna she had gloves, which were the same red as her dress. The dress was strapless, and the back was done up in a similar fashion to a corselet.

As for Lily, she wore a dark blue dress to match her eyes. Unlike Rose and Anna however, Rose's dress didn't have gloves, instead she had long sleeves. The sleeves ended in a diamond-like shape, starting at her wrist and ending at her knuckles. Her bodice appeared to be made of a different material to the bottom half of the dress. Lily's hair had been made so that it looked like she had a plaited ring atop her head.

Her nerves getting to her, Anna, who was holding on to the Count's arm, squeezed gently. Dracula brought his head close, Anna still looking straight ahead at the Ballroom's double doors (not the same ones that the guests entered through).

'It's alright, my dear,' he spoke softly, so only she'd hear, 'everything's going to be fine. You have no reason to be so nervous, Anna,' she turned her head just enough so that she could see his eyes without crashing into him, 'You know I would never allow any harm to come to you.'

She gave a slight nod, to show that she understood, but it hadn't calmed her as much as she thought, or hoped it would. She was still apprehensive, though _not_ as much as she had been. Two of Dracula's servants, dressed in their usual ballroom attire, stepped forward to open the doors inwards, revealing Dracula's grand ballroom.

'Here we go,' she heard Dracula breath. Dracula led Anna into the room, Rose and Lily followed a little distance behind them. Looking around with her eyes, Anna noticed that guests were still arriving through the main entrance, and that Dracula was unfazed by this, as if it was normal.

It took Anna a few moments to realise that Lily and Rose had stopped walking, and that Dracula had led her out onto the floor. Only then did she remember what she had forgotten due to her nervousness, of what Dracula had told her last night. It was customary at the start of the ball, for Dracula to dance with a lady. Usually it was a bride, like Verona, that was until, Aleera had knocked her out, and had brought her to Budapest, and ultimately Dracula.

Pushing her thoughts of that night away from her mind, she focused on the here and now. Dracula noticed the look in her eyes, and since they were standing rather close, he managed to whisper to her without anyone else overhearing him.

'Remember, let me lead,' and with that, the music began to play, and to Anna it seemed like the same music that had been playing that time, so long ago.

With great grace, he led her across the floor, twirling her, and leaning her back, much in the same manner, except that it wasn't violent movements, it was careful as if she was a delicate flower. Anna was still nervous, especially with everyone watching her dancing with the Count.

It was hard for her to let him lead, she had always followed herself, the only exception being her family's vow, the Valerious vow. However, after a while, she allowed herself to slip into a state of mind, somewhat similar to a trance. As Dracula continued to lead her across the floor, Anna felt like she was in a dream...

_Dracula was leading her across the floor, holding one of her gloved hands in his, the other at her waist. Anna's other hand rested upon his arm, near his shoulder, their bodies pressed against each other as they glided about, Dracula leading the way. As they danced, Anna couldn't help but notice that all eyes were on her, and Dracula. _

_She spotted Van Helsing, watching from on high, up on the balcony. The way he stood there, reminded her of a guard dog, or a wolf in his case, ready to defend them at the smallest hint of danger. However he didn't appear to be doing his job, he was too busy watching the two of them dancing, along with everybody else. The dance was soon coming to an end, and Anna began to feel relieved, _what with everybody staring at her?

_She looked into the Count's eyes, expecting some kind of scheme to lie there; however what she found there instead, surprised her. There was a powerful feeling in his eyes, deep and true. At that moment Anna realised something, something that she had tried to hide since she'd first met him. _

'_Kiss me,' she whispered. Immediately the look in his eyes changed to one of revelation, but the powerful feeling from before was still visible. Just then the music came to a close, and the Count leaned in, Anna bridged the gap. Their lips touched in a soft kiss, but then a passion began to pass between them. How long they kissed, she knew not, for it seemed to transcend time itself._

_When their lips parted however, Anna became very aware of the many stares, shocked looks, and open-mouthed gawks, that where headed in her direction. Wishing that she was invisible, somehow she knew that everything would be alright. She knew that Dracula would never allow any harm to come to her..._

Blinking, Anna found herself still on the dance floor with Dracula, the dance just ending. Everyone started clapping, Dracula led Anna away to a secluded spot, sitting down, and she sat beside him.

'Anna, are you alright?' he asked, concerned, 'you looked rather distant.'

'What happened?'

'Nothing out of the ordinary, but you looked like you were in another world, another time.' Hearing his words, a thought occurred to her. Not sure what to think about it, she recounted what happened to Dracula.

'Anna, you asked me about this once before, don't you remember?' Anna thought about it for a moment, then realised what he meant.

'That kiss, you told me about, after I remembered an argument with Van Helsing.' Dracula gave a small nod, agreeing with her.

* * *

A/N: I find it hard to describe things sometimes – maybe you've got some pointers? – Especially clothes, and faces, a person's build even, and I know basically nothing about ball gowns. Since this chapter was so long, I couldn't fit all of the Ballroom scenes in, so next chapter is still in the ballroom. Oh! And I realised that I hadn't given Lily an eye colour... so I made them blue. I'm curious as to how they'll react, haven't decided yet, what do you think would happen?

To VintageLyre: As for the colours the brides wear, it was sort of written back in chapter 9, the unknown room, however Rose wears red (just like her name suggests), Lily pink (neither light nor dark, just a nice shade), and Anna a dark purple (like her room, a dark purple that could _almost_ be called black). Yeah, sorry it was a bit short, but if I'd tried to write it any longer I wouldn't have been able to post it soon enough, besides it's been sitting there a little too long, since I started to write the chapter.

To Stacy Vorosco: Yea it has been a while, didn't realise just how long it had been. Nice to _be_ back! Feeling better, and I think I'm over it now. Wasn't it nice of Dracula to come back and give me a tissue? _See_ he's not _always_ evil.

Thanks for the reviews, I kind of live off them (maybe that was why I got sick? Geez maybe I should get a move on in future!) - Starts typing like a maniac - Dracula raises his eyebrow, says nothing.


	19. Corey Neumic

A/N: Sorry that it's been so long. I'd written the first half of this chapter, and then I'd got stuck. Well enough out of me, I'm sure you'll want to read the story instead of hearing me babble...

Disclaimer: Maybe I shouldn't even bother adding one of these...

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Nineteen

Corey Neumic

'Do as you will, Anna, but remember that no one knows about you-know-what.' Anna nodded, but didn't like the idea, when was he going to tell them, if at all?

'Are you going to tell them?'

'You'll have to wait and see,' Dracula said, then gave Anna a gentle kiss on her temple, getting up, he left her to herself. Thinking it best not to be alone with so many vampires around, she went to find Rose and Lily, (more Rose then Lily).

Anna slipped along just outside the dance area, however as she moved, she couldn't help but look up at the balcony - the same balcony where she'd landed when Van Helsing had saved her so long ago, and from her recent memory - and saw Van Helsing standing there like a guard dog...

Beginning to feel uncomfortable at the thought that it might not have been a memory, she quickened her pace without hastening – or at least appearing to – and when she got to where she was going, she discovered only Lily.

'Where's Rose?' she asked, curious and concerned. Lily motioned with her head, since pointing was rude, to somewhere out on the dance floor. At first Anna couldn't tell what she was pointing at, that was until she spotted the red dress amongst the crowd, sticking out almost like a beacon. Rose was dancing with Dracula, or more it was Dracula dancing with Rose, since he was leading.

'The Master always dances with all his brides; you were always the first he danced with.' Anna turned to look at Lily, her tone hadn't been bitter, or harsh, as she had half expected, instead it was happy, if not excited. Perhaps it was just because they were in a ballroom, at a ball, that made her act this way, either that, or she had truly changed.

Whether or not she had changed was beside the point, Anna knew as well as Dracula, and his brides, that although trust could take years to form, it could be shattered in moments.

Although Anna stood rather still, she couldn't help but be nervous, and it took her a few moments to realise that she was starring at Van Helsing. Without drawing attention to herself, Anna looked away and back to the dance floor, where she then found herself starring at Dracula. She found this a better option, why she wasn't sure, she figured it was just because she was viewed as a "Bride of Dracula". Yes, perhaps that was it...

After a while Anna found herself, standing with Rose, drinking from a golden-coloured goblet (was it made of gold?), a dragon twined around the stand, it's tail at the bottom, it's head near the drinking part, which was made of clear glass, with Dracula's insignia – a misty white - on one side, above the head of the dragon. In it was a red liquid, which Anna knew was blood. She had been making herself drink only when she really had to, never anymore than that, however, the smell of it was making it hard for Anna to resist.

And so she took a sip...

'Lady Anna,' come a very think and strong Transylvanian accent, somewhere from behind, to her right. She turned around far enough to see a young man. He had short brown hair, and bright green eyes, his skin was darker than the others. It was obvious to Anna that he was a vampire, she couldn't explain how, it was just a feeling. Somehow she could tell the difference between the different kinds of creatures that were in the room, which were mainly vampires, several werewolves, and some humans, who were most likely Dracula's servants.

'Yes, I'm Lady Anna,' said Anna softly after she had lowered her goblet, 'and you are?' He raised an eyebrow at this.

'Do you _not_ remember me, Lady Anna?' Anna swore inwardly, she should have thought before she'd spoken, and most of all, she shouldn't have been alone...

'_Hang on,' _thought Anna,_ 'wasn't Rose with me a moment ago?' _Looking around in a subtle way, Anna found her across the room, with both, Lily and Dracula; they seemed to be enjoying each other's company.

Anna had a sudden urge to join them...

'Lady Anna, don't you remember me?' Her attention was suddenly drawn back to him.

'No, should I have?' At that very moment, Anna realised her mistake. As soon as the words had passed her lips, his eyes became full of suspicion, and although he hid it quickly, Anna still saw it. 'Look I have to go,' added Anna, feeling anxious.

'Of course Lady, the name's Corey by the way, Corey Neumic.'

'Well it's nice to have met you Mr Neumic, goodbye.' Anna turned and left him standing there. She knew she hadn't heard the last of him, and she was worried that she had just put the Count in a sticky situation. Thinking of the Count, she made her way around to him. When she was close enough, his attention was diverted to her.

'Well hello my dear,' he said, sounding rather calm and relaxed. He was laid back, and pleased to see her, she noted.

'May I sit here?' she asked, a hint of worry touching the edges of her voice. Her tone made the Count concerned, though he hid it well, except for his eyes.

'By all means, Anna,' he smiled, motioning for her to sit. Smiling back at him, Anna seated herself on his left. She moved close to him, close enough that her body was gently pressed against him. With a smile, he put his arm around Anna, and drew her closer, then closed his eyes. For some reason, Anna found that she didn't mind, he felt safe, his arm like a protective shield. Perhaps it was just because no one in that room would be foolish enough to tangle with the Count...

'Count,' she breathed near his ear, his only response was a, 'mm,' sound, indicating that he was listening. She paused a moment, as she realised that he had not said anything about her calling him "Count", pushing it to the back of her mind, she continued, 'do you know of someone called Corey Neumic?' Moving her head slightly - so that she could see his face - she noticed the tightness of his jaw, indicating that he had, 'Who is he, and how do I know him? He said I knew him.'

The Count's jaw was even tighter now. Having known Anna very well, he knew she wasn't about to give up. Sighing, he opened his eyes, and looked at Anna, their faces rather close.

'You've met him only once before, so long ago,' he said quietly, those eyes of his meeting Anna's, 'I let him off with a warning, stating that if he did it again, there would be no more warnings,' he paused, turning away, 'but it seems he hasn't learnt his lesson.'

'What did he do?' Anna asked Dracula, her voice just as soft as his. He turned back to Anna.

'Let's just say, he wasn't very polite, and had _upset_ you.' Anna decided to leave it there, for now...

* * *

A/N: Considering how long it took to get this one up, however, I doubt it will ever take THAT long again. In fact the next one will be here shortly. Originally the ball was going to be like one chapter, and then it was going to be two, now it's three, and I think that then, will be the end of the ball.


	20. Never Gatecrash On A Dracula Festivity

A/N: I like the title of this one, and I have nothing more to say right now...

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Twenty

Never Gatecrash On A Dracula Festivity

After much dancing, and conversation, it was nearing dawn, but that was when it spiralled downhill...

Sitting, Anna was once again close to the Count – having just finished another dance with him - her head turned towards him, resting against him. Dracula's head was resting gently behind hers, his face out of site, buried somewhere near her neck and shoulder.

'Good evening, Count, or should I say good morning,' the Count moved his head from behind Anna's – somewhat irritable - so that the person who had spoken, was now in his line of sight. The Count recognised him immediately as Corey Neumic (which only increased his irritation).

'Sometimes being infamous is a bad thing,' Dracula muttered so softly that Anna was pretty certain that she was the only one who heard, 'it draws in the pesky curious types.'

'I do believe you have yourself a problem on your hands. Considering what I found out tonight.'

'And what, Corey Neumic, might that be?' The Count didn't seem very bothered by what Neumic was saying – more that Neumic was merely in his presence_._ By this time, everyone in the room, had their attention on the scene before them, all of them remembering the last time Corey had been so stupid. Everyone that is, except Anna.

'That, Lady Anna,' he indicated her without pointing, 'has amnesia.' The Count raised an eyebrow.

'Does she now?' he said, not the least bit worried, 'and _what _makes you say that?'

'She has no recollection of me what so ever, and if you asked for Lady Anna's friends to step forward, you would find that she would recognise none of them,' his voice taking on some sort of fiery passion. The Count gave a sigh, Anna must have said something when she'd run into Neumic earlier, and hadn't told him. However something occurred to him at that moment...

'Why should it bother _you_?' asked the Count, a flicker of knowing in his eyes, 'You shouldn't even _be here_.' Dracula rose - Anna's hand gently sliding down off his chest - to stand before Neumic. At this point Neumic's appearance looked as if he was a man who was face-to-face with death; however it was worse than that, considering it was the son of the Devil, not death that he was face-to-face with.

'Considering that you weren't even _invited!_' the look on Neumic's face caused the Count's next words, '_what?_ You didn't think I'd know?'Dracula moved closer, and when he spoke again, there was an edge of anger to his voice, '_Oh,_ I know. I know because I _sit_ and _write _each one. I do it for several reasons, _besides_ the fact that I enjoy it. _One_, for authenticity, _Two_, to prevent forgery, _and three_, to desist people like you, from _gatecrashing!_' Neumic gulped, as the Count drew close enough, so that only Neumic could hear him.

'And if I ever see your face around here again, don't expect a warning, because there won't be one!' Dracula moved back, away from him, so everyone could hear, _'now get out!'_ Neumic was in such a state that he didn't know what to do, and even if he had tried to move, his feet would have failed him.

Throughout this entire conversation, the Count did not shout once, nor raise his voice above a normal speaking level, however being Count Dracula, he hadn't needed to, just his mere presence (especially in a bad mood) coupled with razor sharp edges to his tone could scare almost anyone.

Since everyone's attention was on Neumic and Dracula, no one had noticed a giant black hairy beast making its way high up across the wall, where no one could see it unless they looked for it.

Since Neumic hadn't moved, and Dracula was getting more irritated, the great black beast took a flying leap, and with a raging roar smashed right into Neumic, slamming him to the ground onto his back, the beast atop him. The beast gave an angry snarl right in his face, and if Neumic hadn't been a vampire, he probably would've wet his pants right then.

'Neumic, I'm sure you've met Gabriel?' the Count said, with a smirk, indicating the wolfish creature on top of Neumic. Gabriel snarled again in Neumic's face, causing him to flinch.

'Oh, and Neumic?' said Dracula calmly - Neumic too scared to turn away from the werewolf to look at Dracula – smiling, 'you were right about Anna, she does have amnesia, but only back to a certain point, however her memories are returning.'

'So I was right,' came Neumic's voice, only to be silenced by another snarl from Gabriel, however this time it was much more violent, and he showed most all of his teeth.

'_Yes_... and if you _know_ what's good for you, you'll keep your mouth _shut_.'

* * *

'That went well,' said Gabriel, causing a smile out of the Count.

'Yes, but the most important question remains. Will he be foolish enough to go against me?' Dracula was leaning against his chamber door, talking to Van Helsing, his brides in his chambers, his guests having been lead to their guest rooms, by his servants, while Corey Neumic was sitting in a dank dark cell of the dungeons, and had it not been because of the sun, Dracula would've had him thrown out the door – which was what he was planning to do tomorrow after the sun had set.

'He'd really be a fool, if he did,' said Van Helsing, 'As a wise one once said, it is better that people _think_ you are a fool, then to open your mouth and _prove_ it.'

Dracula gave a chuckle, 'Yes, well, if you'll excuse me now Gabriel, it's time I went to bed.' Van Helsing left to go back on guard duty, while Dracula stood there for a few moments, before turning to open the door.

Closing the door behind him, he found the main room to be empty. He headed through for the other room, and once inside he lied down on the bed. Anna was sound asleep beside him; Dracula watched her sleep for a little while, before settling himself down to sleep.

* * *

A/N: I hope to get more chapters down (can't promise anything, but at least I can try, right?) So can anyone guess what Neumic's job is? If someone can guess correctly, I'll get the next chapter through faster. The next chapter might take a while though, due to new plots which I have created here in "this" chapter, and the previous one.


	21. Dark Dungeons And Warm Cuddles

A/N: I apologise for being this late. No, I'm not making excuses. I have had some terrible and sad things happen these last 7-8 months :( My nanna had a fall while on vacation & badly broke her leg, & I have been helping take care of her (she is now back on her feet, and is doing well). My other nan died, a short while beforehand. My dad had a heart attack just before Christmas (half his heart died, but he's ok, he can walk around, but gets tired easy - I'm just glad that he's alive). All this had caused me to spiral into a very bad depression (yeah the serious kind), which I have only just managed to come out of alive. So as you can see, I have not been in the mood to do any writing, however since everyone loves this story so much, & I have just read it through, I decided to get this done.

Disclaimer: If I owned Van Helsing, Dracula would have lived, and he would've got Anna, but I think you all knew that.

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Twenty One

Dark Dungeons And Warm Cuddles

In the dungeon it was dark. And dank. And just plain creepy.

The dungeon was made of stone, which was not cut or made smooth, so if you ran your fingers across the wall, you would find yourself with a badly cut and bleeding hand. Even the ground was uneven, and rough to the touch. Dangling upon the walls around the room, were shackles just clanging in an eerie rhythm against the wall. If the Count's intention was to scare his prisoners to death, then it was working rather well.

Trembling in terror in a corner, careful not to touch the wall, was Corey Neumic. He appeared to be the sole occupant, at least in this chamber. He had heard rumours about the Count's dungeons, but he had never believed them. If all the rumours were true, then he was just thankful that he hadn't ended up in the dungeons of his castle, where it was said he kept other creatures of darkness, and the occasional werewolf.

He jumped in shock, - the sharp surface cutting a gash into his back - as he heard a snarl not far away. It seemed the stone somehow made it difficult to figure out where a noise had come from, even for a vampire. Neumic couldn't tell whether it had come from somewhere outside the iron bar door, or right there in the same dungeon cell.

He breathed in a sharp breath, the scent of his own blood on the air. He could feel his wound healing, it was itchy and he could feel his flesh knitting itself back together. He tried not to think of what else might be lingering in these dungeons. As he tried to relax, he heard that same snarl, and if he didn't know any better, he would have sworn that it was much closer. His body begun to shake, this was the least of what he needed right now, if he ever made it to dusk, he would have to face Dracula. Not the most comforting thought in the world, but he'd rather face Dracula, then Van Helsing. Van Helsing's life was to hunt down and kill creatures of the night, such as vampires. All vampires knew that unlike Van Helsing, Dracula preferred not to kill his people; however he would if provoked too far. At least with Dracula it was more likely that a vampire would live. Yet, he still didn't like his chances.

Suddenly, he heard movement in his cell. He wasn't alone as he had initially thought.

'Whose there?' he asked in a quivering voice, but he received no answer, just the cold silence he'd had before. He was certain the he was not alone, there was someone else in here; perhaps they were just sleeping? He'd never heard of anyone snarling in their sleep before, maybe he was just imagining things, yes that had to be it; there was no one here but him. Whether or not he believed that, he told himself repeatedly that he was alone. Since he was so scared, he wasn't listening to his instincts. He was ignoring the fact, that there really was someone else in the same cell, and just because he couldn't see them, or because he told himself that there no one else there, didn't mean that it was true.

He heard a scrapping noise, something similar to nails on a chalkboard. Neumic might never have heard that sound before, but he was certain that it was the sound of claws scrapping across the stone floor. His body started to quiver from head to toe, what was this creature? He had no doubt that it was indeed awake, but what was it doing scaring him like this?

He saw a slight movement, somewhere in front of him to his left. Since the window was so small, and so high up on the wall; it didn't cast much light, but from what little light he had, he could see the silhouette of something there in the dark. He didn't know what it was, but it was _big_. In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but think; that if he had ever seen a Sasquatch, this thing would've been _bigger_.

It was moments like these that he was glad that he was a vampire, because if his heart could beat, it would've been so loud and fast that he wouldn't have heard the creature as it begun to rise from its lazy position on the cold stone floor. However that thought did not comfort him, when the creature turned to look him straight into his eyes, with its dark cold stare that made him think of death. And although the thought of his vampiric speed, should've comforted him, it did not, because of the simple fact, that he was so scared, that he couldn't take his eyes off it. He knew he couldn't have moved, even if he'd wanted to.

It also didn't stop his scream when it leapt for his throat.

* * *

Dracula found he was too comfortable to want to wake up; in fact he hadn't even opened his eyes yet. He felt movement against him. He knew it was a bride, for if it hadn't been, they would've disturbed him, waking him immediately. She was cuddled up close to him, her head resting against his chest, shoulder, and even some of his upper-arm, since Dracula was lying somewhat on his side, his arm around her waist. One of her arms was wrapped around him fairly, but loosely, her head nuzzled gently into him, his chin resting just above her head.

For a while, he just lay there, it could've been minutes, or hours, he didn't care nor did it matter, he hadn't felt so at peace for a long time. However as the time passed, his mind began to wonder back to the previous night, remembering what he was to do first thing this evening; sometimes he hated having a position of responsibility, it could ruin calm evenings, and peaceful moments.

With a refrained sigh, he opened his eyes, finding them still heavy with sleep. He wished that he didn't have to get up, especially when he felt like being lazy, and staying in bed. He lifted his head carefully so as not to disturb his bride that was cuddled so closely to him.

However when he tilted his head to look at their face, his lips parted in surprise; he fought back a gasp, but still managed a quivered breath. He found it hard to believe his eyes, _his_ Anna, who did not remember the love she had for him, was cuddled up to him, as if she did remember. Even though he knew it was because she was asleep, he gave her sleeping figure a warm smile. Gently, careful not to wake her, he brushed her hair out of her face. She was always so peaceful when she slept, even more then when she was awake, perhaps because she looked so peaceful. Even when she was angry, she was still beautiful; not even a frown disturbed the beauty of her face.

Dracula sighed; he knew that it was not going to be easy to get up without disturbing a single bride, let alone all of them, especially Anna. When he begun to move, he felt Anna move closer to him, as if she was afraid that he was leaving and would not return.

'Don't go', he knew that she had to be dreaming, 'please'. Her voice was soft, almost loving; he felt his heart warm at such tenderness. It was a pity that it was only in her sleep. He gently brushed her hair out of her face, and begun to move again, but stopped abruptly when he heard one word from Anna's lips, spoken with such tenderness and innocence that it surprised him, let alone the fact that she had spoken it at all.

'Vladislaus.'

His breath caught in his throat, he wasn't sure of what to say or what to do. He had not expected her to say his name, asleep or otherwise. He thought that he would never hear his name spoken from her soft lips again, especially with as much sweetness as she had just spoken.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoy the new chapter, I'm already planning the next one, the wording is always the hardest, I think I'll set time aside at least once every day, just for writing. I think I need to, otherwise I'll never get it done, and that would be a great shame, and not just on my part. On a side note, my depression is currently better than usual, better than I think it's ever been; I've never felt so good, I'm hoping that it sticks around (and never leaves again...).


	22. What's Going On

A/N: Most everything is better... My uncle is having heart problems, :( not really sure of what kind they are though...

Disclaimer: I know that I don't need to write disclaimers, but they're kind of fun, don't you think? So yeah, I don't own Van Helsing or Dracula (although if you ask me, I'd rather have Dracula). XD

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Twenty Two

What's Going On

It had not been easy getting out of that bed, and walking out of the room. He was happy to know that he had somehow managed to do just that without waking a single bride, sometimes he astonished even himself.

Sometimes.

He put his intriguing thoughts of Anna out of his mind, for now. He would get back to that later, he knew that she would not remember saying his name, but it didn't matter. Somewhere inside was his beloved Anna that he had known for so many years. It might be the 21st century, - there were some things he had taken a liking to, he still didn't like cars - but Anna had not changed that much over the years. There had really been only one thing that had changed. She no longer denied the truth of her feelings for him. He had always known that in her mind and heart, she had always loved him, but had feared what would happen if she should ever admit it out loud, so she had decided to hold her silence, keeping the truth from everyone, even from herself.

He walked down the long dungeon corridors, until he reached a door with a man standing next to it, leaning casually against the wall, waiting patiently, as if nothing would faze him. Dracula did not speak to him as he unlocked and opened the door. When Dracula stepped inside, he was expecting to see one occupant looking rather frazzled, or fearful. Instead, much to his chagrin, he found it empty.

Furious, he turned to the man standing outside. He couldn't help but yell; his anger obvious.

'Gabrielle, where is he!' Van Helsing's face clouded with confusion, taking a quick look inside, to make sure he couldn't be hiding anywhere, or be hanging from the ceiling, (he wouldn't put it past him, since the prisoner was a vampire), but found nothing.

'I don't understand,' he turned to the Count, who did _not_ look very pleased, in fact he almost looked murderous. Van Helsing instinctively moved out of the dungeon cell, just in case Dracula had any ideas of locking him in there as punishment. Dracula watched him silently for a time. From what Van Hellsing could gather, he looked thoughtful. He wasn't going to get Igor to punish him again, _was he?_ He involuntarily shuddered at the thought.

'Don't worry Gabrielle,' his voice much calmer and steady, 'you will not be punished.' Van Helsing sighed in relief; with Dracula it was always hard to know what he was thinking, especially when one, such as Van Helsing, couldn't read minds. Usually when Dracula read his mind, he would get agitated; however this was one of the rare times that he didn't mind the intrusion.

'No, Gabrielle,' Dracula continued, his voice low, Van Helsing not liking his tone. 'As long as you tell me anything that might be useful, did you hear anything yesterday, anything at all?' Van Helsing flinched under his deadly gaze, a gaze that filled him with dread. Van Helsing forced himself to concentrate, to remember, if anything had been suspicious yesterday, while Dracula had been sleeping...

'There was something,' he said suddenly, breaking the long silence that ascended around them, while he thought. 'I heard a scream... but it couldn't have been him, it was _so_ _girly_,' Van Helsing paused, 'on second thought, it probably _was_ him.' This comment stirred a rare chuckle from the Count. At least he wasn't angry anymore.

'Indeed Gabrielle, however, it is not possible that he escaped, someone must have taken him.' Van Helsing couldn't understand it, even if he had been taken, what could they possibly gain from it? He wasn't of any value, was he?

'I do not know, Gabrielle, but I intend to find out.'

* * *

He groaned, his head hurt like hell, was it possible that he had been run over? He didn't feel like he was in that kind of pain, he simply felt groggy, as if he'd been hit over the head, or maybe it was just a really bad hang over. He'd had quite a few of them in his time; he wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.

'Wake up!' came a voice, splitting his head, it sounded far away. He opened his eyes, and tried to focus them. The room swirled, bringing back memories of drunken parties. He felt dead; in fact he couldn't even hear his heartbeat. What had happened? Had he gotten drunk at another party? Surely his mother was going to kill him, he didn't want to go through that again; the way she looked at him, so disgusted. Her look was always far worse than any beating that he received from his father.

'Wake up you filthy nosferatu!' that voice again, it felt much closer this time. The room was finally coming into view, although it was still spinning slightly. He blinked; it looked like he was in some sort of cabin, an old cabin.

He jolted when he saw a man standing in front of him, who looked agitated, and impatient. He appeared to a gentle soul, but there was something monstrous about him. It was not in his appearance, which seemed wild, it was merely his presence. He was a handsome man, or perhaps would be, if he got rid of the beard. His long brown hair, which looked as if it had been cut shorter recently, was unkempt, as if he didn't have the time, or facilities to keep it tidy. It even looked as if he'd hacked it (or was it some new fashion?); his beard in the same situation.

'Who are you?' he muttered his mind still groggy, had he been drugged? He let out an exasperated breath, as a sharp pain split his head, like shards of glass. His memory was hazy, but the last thing he remembered was being attacked by some monster in one of Dracula's dungeons in Budapest.

He went to get up, but found himself immobilised. Looking down, he found himself tied to the chair that he was sitting in. Wait? He was sitting in a chair? His head had hurt that much, he hadn't noticed.

* * *

A/N: Hey, this came out quicker than I thought it would O_O well I won't complain. Hmm, now what happens in the next chapter...


	23. A Change For The Better

A/N: Hey, everyone I'm back! (did you miss me?) I loved it at my friends place.

Dracula: You missed your brand new Nintendo Wii - that you got a week before you left - while you were gone didn't you?

No, I didn't, I didn't have the time too, but I couldn't be without my laptop though, *laughs* hey, where's Anna?

Gabrielle: In her room, where she's been ever since you started writing this fic. She's angry because you paired her with Dracula.

(Van Helsing gets wacked with a pillow): we all know that Anna loves Dracula, so shut up!

Dracula:...

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Twenty Three

A Change for the Better

'Who I am, is of no concern to you, vampire!' said the stranger before him.

'I have a name,' muttered the vampire, clearly not pleased with being tied up.

'I don't care that you have a name.' The vampire stared at him, this man couldn't be a commoner; his very mannerisms betrayed him, the way he stood, the way he spoke, there was something about this man that the vampire couldn't place, he seemed familiar somehow. He looked him up and down, he didn't look familiar; maybe it was because of the hair that was throwing him off, if he had a decent hair cut, or shaved his beard away, he just _might_ be recognisable.

'Well, whether it matters or not, my name is Corey Neumic, and you can just untie me now.' Surprisingly his fear did not show in his voice, he managed to keep it level. The stranger stared at him, as if he was figuring out what to do with him, it gave Neumic the creeps, it was the kind of look that says, "Should I throw him to the wolves?" Neumic looked away from him, he couldn't look at him anymore, and he didn't want to know what this man was thinking.

'I wonder if you were worth my time and effort,' after such a long silence, the man's words made Neumic jump, and he turned to observe the man.

'What are you talking about?' Another dead silence followed, Neumic began to wonder if this man had spent too much time in the wilderness, if he needed a nice visit to the psych ward, or a social grouping. The man walked past him, not bothering to give him a wide birth.

A few moments later, he came back with a chair which he placed down backwards in front of the vampire. He sat down on it, facing the vampire, his arms folded across the back of the chair; this was the only time that he seemed un-noble.

Neumic's mind started to race, what was he doing here? Was this man in league with some sort of monster? Or was _he_ the monster? Without these answers, he couldn't figure out what had happened, and after his stint in Dracula's dungeons, he wasn't looking forward to more trouble. Perhaps he had finally learnt his lesson...

'I'm going to ask you several questions,' said the man, starting at Neumic thoughtfully, 'and you're going to answer them truthfully.'

'Who are you anyway? And why would you want me?' Neumic ignored the question asked of him, as if he hadn't heard. The man started at him.

'I told you, my name is of no importance-' but Neumic interrupted him before he could finish.

'I don't care if you think it's important or not, I want a name, something I can call you,' Neumic said sternly, 'so long as we're here.'

'You are a reporter, and you tend to give a lot of information about Dracula to the world, that's why vampires hate you.' Neumic cursed in his mind; he had not expected that, those words would haunt him. He'd been fighting what he was for years, but had eventually accepted it. However the man was right, and when he'd think about it, he found that he hated the fact of what he'd done, and although there was no excuse, he still wished to change it, perhaps now was his chance.

'Now will you give me my answers?' Neumic thought for a moment.

'No.' The man stared at the vampire, perhaps he was more trouble than he was worth.

'You'd better, or you'll regret it. I'll get answers out of you one way or another.' Neumic didn't know what to say, was this man _mad?_ His new warning from Dracula was far worse than his first warning, and he knew that there wouldn't be a third; Dracula never gave a third warning, and ever since Dracula had severely tortured a vampire for several years, and then killed them in place of a third warning, no one had ever gone that far again. Neumic may have done a lot of stupid things in his life, but he wasn't an idiot, and he didn't have a death wish.

There was no way Neumic was going to give this man any information. Neumic had always been good at getting information out of people; he had many ways of doing it, sometimes without the person even aware that he was there, like a spy. Perhaps he should get some information from this guy, yes perhaps a career change wasn't such a bad idea after all, it would be better than a reporter. At least that way, he could truly help his people, like he'd always wanted to.

'Fine, you can just call me Trivan.' Neumic raised an eyebrow.

'_Triv-van?_ That's not even a name!'

'Well too bad, that's what you'll call me.' Neumic knew that this couldn't be his real name, since when did someone – anyone – name their kid, Trivan? However at least he had something to call him by.

* * *

Dracula, giving a big yawn, covered his mouth automatically without thought. Sitting behind his desk in his office, which had his study through the door to his left, he hated paperwork. His desk was neat, except for the pile of envelopes on one side of the desk, which were threatening to topple.

Dracula had decided to try and get some paperwork done, so that Anna could search for answers, and not have to worry about coming across him in her travels throughout the palace. Although Dracula suspected that she had been deliberately avoiding him, it didn't bother him. The paperwork, however, was another matter. Dracula had tried all the different places that he could go to do said paperwork, but it never seemed to work. In fact, once in the sitting room, upon seeing the fire, he'd felt very tempted to burn it. He'd imagined himself laughing evilly as it burned.

So he'd decided to keep his paperwork in his office, not that he'd get it done, he was always behind. Why did he even have to do paperwork? As he begun to contemplate this, a knock came upon the door. Dracula lifted his head, averting his eyes from the paper on the desk, in front of him, which he'd been staring at, deep in thought.

'Enter,' Dracula said, only loud enough for them to hear, he tried not to sound enthusiastic about the interruption, but he couldn't help feeling happy about it.

The door opened to reveal – to his surprise – Anna. For a few moments, the world stood still, and Dracula was speechless. With a raised eyebrow and his expression calm, only his eyes betrayed his surprise, which he quickly hid. As Anna walked into the room, Dracula noticed that it was rather cautiously, and uncertain, as if she wasn't sure of how she should approach him, or act around him.

'Anna, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?' Anna lifted her head, not realising that she'd averted her eyes downward, as soon as she stared to walk into the room. She'd only come here because she'd used him as an excuse to get away from a curious guest, who kept asking her questions. She couldn't think of anything else to say, so she'd suddenly interrupted them saying, "I'm sorry, but I really have to go, Dracula will be wondering where I am, he's expecting me." The look on the woman's face was more than she could bear, she'd made haste without looking hasty, in no particular direction, but after a short while, she'd realised that she'd have to go and see Dracula, otherwise the woman would end up being offended when she found out that Anna hadn't even paid a visit to the vampire king.

'Well, I... I just... I...' Anna's voice trailed away, and she continued muttering, more to herself than Dracula, trying to figure out what to tell him; she didn't wish to offend him – that thought surprised her. Dracula tilted his head, watching her intriguingly.

'Anna,' she met Dracula's gaze, 'I know why you're here,' he gave her a warm smile, 'it's ok to use me as an excuse to escape things, and I don't mind the visits.' He smiled wider at this last comment. Anna just stared at him, how had he known? Could he read minds, or had she been here with him so long that Dracula knew her so well?

Anna knew that she was a vampire, she had finally come to believe that, no longer denying that truth, however, was she really Dracula's bride, as Van Helsing had told her? The way that Dracula behaved around her, so caring, yet cautious of her amnesia, not wishing to upset her, was definitely something to think about.

'Thank you,' she said, not sure of what to say, 'I didn't know how to tell you, I didn't want to be...' she cut off, what was she thinking, this was nuts! Anna shook her head mentally, what was it about Dracula that threw her logic out the window? Why couldn't she think straight when he was around? She looked at Dracula, she saw his smile, was he smirking? No, Anna realised, but it wasn't the kind of smile she expected, especially from Dracula. Was that a look of intrigue, or an adoring look?

'Is something wrong, Anna?' Dracula asked softly, still watching her, his brow furrowed in worry.

* * *

A/N: Aren't you guys lucky, I finished this at my friends place. :D Hope you enjoy this, surprisingly it didn't take that long, just a few hours, and I didn't have too much trouble. I also finished the next two chapters! (I'm proof reading them at the moment, & making sure there isnt anything I want to change at this point, shouldn't take me too long.)


	24. The Kiss Of Memories

I also wrote this at my friend's place, that's why I upload two chapters, not one, (well actually three).

* * *

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Twenty Four

The Kiss of Memories

She stared at Dracula, not sure of what to say; was there anything wrong?

'No, there's nothing wrong Dracula.' Anna muttered, not thinking about all her thoughts that had been bothering her. Dracula flinched, although he tried to hide it, Anna saw him flinch slightly. She didn't know what to say or do about it either.

Since she was standing near him, she didn't have to walk across the room to reach him; she touched his shoulder to comfort him, and whispered a sorry. Dracula turned his head and looked up to meet her eyes.

'There's no need to say sorry, you didn't do anything wrong.'

'Then why did you flinch, like a thought that makes you shudder?' Dracula continued to watch her, his eyes staring into hers. Strangely Anna didn't feel the slightest bit of disquieted, in fact she felt a warmth instead, which she couldn't explain, it was like she liked him looking at her, in her eyes, and her eyes into his.

'I'm not used to you calling me that, that's all.' Dracula didn't seem the slightest bit put out by this, which only made Anna wonder if he'd always been like this. Dracula raised his hand, and it came to rest against her cheek, his eyes where heavy as if he was tired, but he looked like he'd had a decent amount of sleep.

Anna lowered her head to rest against his shoulder; her head leaned against his head, her arms coming to wrap loosely around his neck. Dracula closed his eyes, loving the closeness. His thumb moved back and forth against her cheek, in a soothing motion. Anna sighed softly, Dracula felt her breath on his cheek, and couldn't help a smile.

Sadly, the beautiful moment was ruined by a knock at the door. Anna felt her heart sink, she'd felt contented being this close to Dracula, who at that moment sighed disheartened; it seemed that Anna wasn't the only one who had been comfortable with the arrangement.

Sliding her arms off of Dracula, she took a step with her foot as if to leave, but just as Dracula drew a breath and was about to say, "enter" - her hand on the back of the chair for balance - she swung around and brought her mouth to his. Since Dracula hadn't expected it, he didn't react straightaway, however, he was soon kissing her back with as much passion as she was kissing him.

Anna pulled herself down onto his lap, just as Dracula brought his arm around her to bring her closer, their kiss getting more passionate, the kind of passion where you almost wanted to rid them of their clothes.

Once again a knock came upon the door, Dracula hated it when people were impatient; it always interrupted intimate times like these. The knock had also brought Anna back to her senses, and she pulled away from Dracula, breaking the kiss, their faces still close, however once Dracula saw her face, he looked away, seeing that look in her eyes had hurt, he had been hoping that she had come back to him.

Having seen Dracula's reaction, she gave him a soft kiss on his cheek, before getting up out of the chair, she was going to let them in while she left; Dracula knew that. Dracula watched her approach the door, his mood lifted slightly from her kiss on his cheek, which felt warm.

Anna opened the door, and to her horror it was the woman from before, the one that had been asking her a lot of questions, and talking a lot. Anna had never been one for gossiping; maybe that was why Dracula had always liked her so much?

'Oh, hello deary,' she said, in one of those voices, where you just want to strangle the person for such high and annoying tones. Dracula almost immediately picked up on Anna's discomfort.

'I will see you later Anna.' Anna nodded, thankful for the escape, but still felt unnerved as she left, the woman's stare making her feel rather uncomfortable. What was she doing here anyway?

On her way back to Dracula's chambers, she kept having some kind of dizzy spells, she shook her head to try and clear it, but it didn't have any effect. Just as she reached Dracula's chambers, she fell against the door as her mind split, and the world around her fell away.

_She couldn't see anything, but she could feel _so_ much. She knew that she was not alone, that there was someone with her; she could feel their body pressed against her. Their hands roamed her body, and as she felt a sudden hot searing kiss into the crook of her neck, she opened her eyes in shook and pleasure; she couldn't hold back her moan._

_She turned her head to see who was responsible for such a pleasurable kiss, and found him lying somewhat underneath her. She ran her hand through his long dark hair, which was free and unrestricted. She leaned over and kissed him, the taste of his mouth something she would never be able to get enough of, or want to forget the taste of._

_His hand came to caress her soft breast; his mouth trailed down her skin to devour her other breast, his free arm pulled her closer, as Anna moaned louder. Anna clutched him closer, her other hand running into his hair again. _

Anna gasped. Looking around, she found herself on the floor, just outside the door to Dracula's chambers. How long had she been out? It couldn't have been very long, otherwise someone would've noticed. Anna knew that she'd just had a flashback, but that wasn't what unnerved her. She realised that this memory flash had occurred because of that kiss earlier, but she hadn't expected to find herself half-naked in Dracula's bed, with none other than Dracula himself!

Using the door to get up, she pushed her way into the room; thankfully there was no one there. Thinking it best to go straight to bed, and go to sleep, she walked in through another door, and didn't bother closing it behind her.

* * *

A/N:Ok, the next one might be a bit longer since I'm not quite finished reading through, and I'm not yet happy with it, hopefully it won't be too much longer.


	25. Flooding Memories

Dracula and Anna - Finding the Truth

Chapter Twenty Five

Flooding Memories

_Anna runs into the relocated Frankenstein's laboratory. When she sees Van Helsing readying to pounce on Dracula, she doesn't know what makes her do it, but she runs to the vampire. As she runs, she drops the cure. As a large clock strikes the last stroke of midnight, Van Helsing leaps at Dracula, but seeing Anna is between them, he tries to avoid her._

'_No!' shouts Dracula, watching in disbelief. Van Helsing not able to stop, hits Anna into the sofa, and immediately backs away, as Dracula advances. Touching Anna's cheek with his hand, he feels her life force draining away, but he can't let her go, especially since he hadn't gotten the chance to tell her how he felt._

_As he leans towards her neck, Van Helsing growls a warning, drawing Dracula's attention away from Anna._

'_Your time is up Gabriel, the last stroke of midnight has passed; now you have no choice but to _obey me_.' It is hard to tell what Van Helsing is thinking or feeling, but the Count knows, and is ready. Van Helsing strikes at him, only to be stopped by two fingers from Dracula._

_He smiles broadly, as Van Helsing growls his disapproval. Dracula commands him to leave the room, and to come whenever he is called. Van Helsing reluctantly leaves the room as Dracula moves closer to Anna._

_He hated the idea of biting Anna without her consent, but he had no choice if he wished not to lose her. Wishing that this could be different, and knowing how angry his beloved princess would be with him, he lengthened his sharp canines, preparing for the bite before it was too late._

Anna opened her eyes, looking into someone's face, as soon as she realises that it's Dracula, she pulls away, and falls off the bed to smack against the floor – at least it had a nice thick rug to cushion her fall.

'Anna, are you alright?' She could hear the worry in his voice, but she didn't care, she hated him for what he'd done, even if it was a long time ago - she would never forgive him. Dracula helped her up, and when she went to pull away, he wouldn't let her go.

'Let me go!' Anna shouted, still trying to escape.

'No, not until you let me know that you're ok, and tell me what's going on?' Anna suddenly stopped struggling. She didn't understand it herself, she had gone to sleep thinking that she could escape the past, but instead she'd had a dream about the past. The strangest thing was that in part of the dream, it was as if she was Dracula, she had heard all of his thoughts, and felt all of his feelings.

'Why did you bite me?' she asked suddenly, surprising herself. She shouldn't have asked, the answer was in the dream, or memory, or what-ever-it-was. Dracula gently turned her around to face her. As soon as her eyes met Dracula's she really wished that she hadn't asked. There was a powerful look in his eyes that she wished not to face, his words even more so.

'Anna,' Dracula caressed her cheek, 'I have, and always will love you, don't ever forget that.' He gave her a warm smile, even if she didn't look too pleased about it. She pulled away from him, and got out of his hold.

'I'm going back to bed,' she said, ignoring him. Dracula watched her thoughtfully, not sure of how to take her reaction. Anna laid back down into the bed, and tried to get to sleep, instead she has a flashback, this time it wasn't like the other one, this was her memory, and it was not a dream since she couldn't fall asleep.

_Anna recognised the room; it was the living room, she was standing near the fireplace. She could see the moon shining through a high window, bathing the room with a dim light. She knew that this was after her argument with Van Helsing, and the passionate kiss at the ball. She found Dracula half asleep in his chair by the fire. Anna leaned over and kissed him, by his reaction, she'd caught him off guard, however Dracula's next move surprised her; she felt his arm wrap around her and pull off her feet and onto his lap, pulling her close to him, she revelled in the closeness. She felt their lips part, as she opened her eyes, finding that their faces remained close._

'_What is it you want now?' she heard Dracula say, and for the first time, she realised how much that hurt, but she understood why he said it. She couldn't hide how much his words had hurt her; it showed visibly on her face. She didn't know what to say, or how to say it, but she whispered, 'just you,' hoping that he'd hear truth in her voice, she meant every word, even if she had trouble admitting it._

_Anna stared into Dracula's eyes, he was smiling at her, as she slipped off him, her hand taking his, leading him away, she let go of his hand when he stood. She started walking backwards as Dracula followed. _

_Dracula came closer, as she backed up further. This continued until her back came in contact with the bedroom door, Dracula's bedroom door - causing her to jump - as the Count continued to approach. When he was close enough for his eyelashes to touch her skin, he kissed her._

_After several moments - she knew not of how long - he suddenly picked her up, breaking the kiss. With her in his arms, bridal style, he opened the doors and carried her to his bed, the doors closing behind him. Anna knew she could not open the doors, that she was now stuck there with Dracula. For some reason she didn't care._

_As he softly laid her down, she said, 'we're a little hasty aren't we?' To which he only smiled, as his lips pressed gently onto hers. Although Anna wasn't completely sure of her feelings for him at that moment, Dracula knew how she truly felt deep down for him._

_Tenderly pulling his lips from hers, he stared to gently nibble her left earlobe. Anna, who had not fully understood her feelings, and was trying to deny the truth of that kiss at the ball, that had sparked an argument with Van Helsing, soon realised who it was she truly loved. When Dracula had stopped nibbling, he moved to kiss her, but Anna reacted first. She started kissing him like mad, though the Count was surprised, he kissed her back just as fervently. _

She looked so sweet and innocent, as if she was sleeping, but Dracula knew that she was awake, he always knew when she was sleeping. Sitting beside her, he leans over her, and gently kisses her lips.

Anna makes a soft noise, as he continues to press his lips upon her. He places his left hand on her waist, slowly moving his hand along her side, to rest against her neck and left cheek. Gently pulling his lips from hers, he opened his eyes, Anna lying there eyes closed, was motionless and silent, she did not even draw breath.

Dracula, not moving his left hand from her skin, waited for some kind of response. Watching her carefully, he sees her lips move as if she was going to speak. He moves closer, as he once again kisses her. The soft noise she had made before came again, but louder and more prominent, he recognised it as a sound of contentment. Gently breaking the kiss, he moved back, but only a breath way.

Anna slowly opens her eyes, for a moment her vision is blurred. At first she does not know whom she's seeing before her, though it doesn't take long for her vision to clear. Seeing Dracula so close, she is shocked and moves away, so abruptly that she almost falls off the bed, but Dracula grabs her and pulls her away from the edge, bringing her towards himself.

'Leave me alone, Count.' Although it upsets Dracula, to hear her call him "Count," he ignores it, and holds her close. He knows that tone of voice, she isn't angry about him holding her, which he finds strange, but seems calm about it. Her anger subsided, she leans back into him, and he pulls his arms tighter around her.

* * *

Anna's eyes were heavy, as she tried to wake up. She felt strange; feelings of warmth, comfort and safety. She felt as if someone was holding her close, their arms around her protectively, as if afraid someone might hurt her, and only if she was kept close to them, that they would feel that she was safe. The strange thing was, Anna felt that feeling was somewhat mutual.

Opening her eyes, she finds herself in a very cosy bed, and there really is someone holding her like that. Normally she would be surprised to find Dracula holding her, even angry and outraged, but it didn't seem to matter anymore, he made her feel safe, as if no one would dare hurt her if she was close to him, and although she wouldn't admit her true feelings, she wouldn't push him away, or try to avoid him anymore.

She turned her body, so that she was facing him, and cuddled closer, causing Dracula to pull her closer, into a firm but gentle hold.

* * *

A/N: THE END!

_**Not.**_

Well _actually_ it's the end of part one! Now on to part two! So keep an eye out for, Dracula And Anna – Listen To Your Heart


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